It’s not unusual for a high-profile defendant to ask the Justice Department under a new administration to take a fresh look at a case.

Mr. Adams and former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo have both been popular with Black voters, setting up a potential showdown that could decide the Democratic mayoral primary in New York City.

With the 1824 election approaching, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams probably thought he was President James Monroe’s likely successor. Both James Madison in 1808, and Monroe in 1816, had ...