Public Corruption & Public Confidence: Fewer Crimes and More Distrust in Government

Business litigation partner Avi Schick and associate Josh Turner authored an article for the New York Law Journal, titled “Public Corruption & Public Confidence: Fewer Crimes and More Distrust in Government,” that dives into the growing distrust of some government officials in the public, including New York Mayor Eric Adams. 

The authors provide an overview of how Adams, who was facing indictments for fraud and bribery, had his charges dismissed by the Department of Justice in February, prompting several senior prosecutors in the Southern District of New York to resign rather than carry out the dismissal. The authors note that the dismissal seemed to “diminish” Adams’ poll numbers, mirroring the long-run effect of the Supreme Court’s decisions reversing the convictions of government officials. 

The authors further discuss the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence in limiting public corruption prosecutions, through landmark cases like Kelly v. United States, 590 U.S. 391 (2020) and Ciminelli v. United States, 598 U.S. 306 (2023). 

“But the public expects federal law and prosecutors to prohibit and combat corruption,” the authors wrote. “Defining federal corruption narrowly doesn’t mean more politicians are honest. It just means fewer of them will be held accountable. And that means that even fewer Americans will have confidence in government and those who lead it. We are unlikely to find out what would have happened had the case against Mayor Adams gone to trial. We do know what has transpired in the court of public opinion.”