N.Y. Court Holds Mayor Adams Likely Improperly “Negotiated Away Sanctuary City Protections for a Dismissal of His Ongoing Criminal Prosecution”
From New York trial court judge Mary Rosado’s opinion Thursday in Council of City of N.Y. v. Adams (see also N.Y. Times [Luis Ferré-SadurnÃ], Judge Blocks ICE Plan to Open Rikers Office Indefinitely):
This case, at its essence, seeks to maintain the rule of law. Plaintiff-Petitioner seeks to nullify an Executive Order issued allegedly because Mayor Adams negotiated away sanctuary city protections for a dismissal of his ongoing criminal prosecution. On January 31, 2025, Mayor Adams met with President Donald J. Trump’s Deputy Attorney General, Emil Bove (“Mr. Bove”), to discuss Mayor Adams’ ongoing criminal prosecution’s impact on his ability to “work[] with the federal government on important issues of immigration enforcement” Danielle R. Sassoon, Esq., Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, attended the January 31, 2025 meeting, and said “Adams'[] attorneys repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo, indicating that Adams would be in a position to assist with [immigration] enforcement priorities only if the indictment were dismissed.”
On February 3, 2025, Mayor Adams’ criminal defense attorney, Alex Spiro, wrote to Mr. Bove that Mayor Adams’ criminal prosecution will “become increasingly problematic as the Trump administration seeks to aggressively enforce immigration laws and remove undocumented immigrants …. [T]he federal government cannot possibly rely on Mayor Adams to be a fully effective partner in all situations in ongoing public-safety missions while he is under federal indictment ….” Mr. Spiro further wrote that Mayor Adams’ “abilities to exercise his powers have also been complicated by his indictment” including his powers to “prevent[] the Office of the Corporation Counsel from litigating challenges to immigration enforcement, prevent[] appointed city employees from taking public stances against enforcement efforts, [and to] re-open[] the ICE office on Rikers Island ….” On February 10, 2025, Mr. Bove directed federal prosecutors to dismiss without prejudice the pending criminal charges against Mayor Adams.
On February 13, 2025, just after meeting President Donald J. Trump’s “Border Czar,” Thomas Homan (“Mr. Homan”), Mayor Adams announced he would issue an executive order allowing federal immigration authorities on Rikers Island. One day later, on February 14, 2025, Mr. Homan appeared alongside Mayor Adams on Fox & Friends, where he stated if Mayor Adams did not deliver “I’ll be back in New York City, and we won’t be sitting on the couch. I’ll be in his office, up his b ___, saying, ‘Where the hell is the agreement we came to?'” That same day, the Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss all pending criminal charges against Mayor Adams.
While the motion to dismiss was pending, numerous deputy mayors resigned from Mayor Adams’ administration. On March 20, 2025, First Deputy Mayor Mastro was appointed by Mayor Adams. On March 24, 2025, Mayor Adams issued Executive Order No. 49. This order provides First Deputy Mayor Mastro shall “[r]eport directly to the Mayor.” It also delegated to First Deputy Mayor Mastro the authority to “[p]erform any function, power or duty of the Mayor in negotiating, executing and delivering any and all agreements, instruments and any other documents necessary or desirable to effectuate any of the matters” related to public safety.
On April 2, 2025, United District Judge Dale Ho dismissed the criminal charges with prejudice, writing “[e]verything here smacks of a bargain: dismissal of the [i]ndictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions.
Article from Reason.com
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