Valencia v. The City of Yonkers
- Paul Davison
- 7:19-cv-00548
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 10
In Valencia v. The City of Yonkers, Judge Davison ordered COVID-19 testing rules for witnesses who remove masks in court.
People entering Southern District of New York courthouses and people participating in courtroom proceedings, particularly witnesses permitted to remove their masks.
What happened
Valencia v. The City of Yonkers is an order about health and safety procedures in Southern District of New York courthouses and courtrooms. It requires people permitted to remove their masks in court to test negative for COVID-19 that day before removing the mask.
The order allows testing every other day for people removing masks on successive days, and provides exceptions for incarcerated people tested before transportation and people with a confirmed COVID-19 case within the previous 90 days. The opinion text also includes district-wide rules restricting courthouse entry, requiring screening, approved masks, hand sanitizer, and social distancing.
Judge Paul E. Davison issued the order on February 17, 2022. The provided text does not decide the underlying dispute between Valencia and the defendants or rule on a motion.
The detailed version
- Valencia v. The City of Yonkers · No. 7:19-cv-00548
- Paul Davison
- Feb. 17, 2022
Nature of the Order
The court issued a courtroom COVID-19 protocol order in the case. The provided text does not address the parties’ underlying claims, decide liability, or rule on a motion.
Courtroom Mask-Removal Testing
The order requires anyone permitted to remove a mask in a courtroom to obtain a negative COVID-19 molecular diagnostic test on the day of, and before, removing the mask. The requirement applies even when the person is in a witness box or at a podium equipped with a high-efficiency particulate air filter and Plexiglas, and even when the person is fully vaccinated and boosted.
A person who will remove a mask on successive days may test every other day. The protocol does not apply to incarcerated people who are tested at their facilities before transportation to the courthouse. It also does not apply to people with a confirmed COVID-19 case verified by a doctor’s note or viral test within the previous 90 days. Proof of that prior case must be provided to the court’s COVID-19 Response Team and Judge Davison’s chambers at least 24 hours before trial.
The court will provide approved test kits at no cost for witnesses to self-administer under court-staff supervision. The court-provided test must be taken at least one hour before the witness appears in the courtroom, and counsel must schedule the test at least one business day beforehand.
District-Wide Entry Rules Included in the Text
The text also includes a standing order and related memoranda concerning entry into Southern District of New York courthouses. Those materials prohibit entry for certain people who recently tested positive, were told to assume they had COVID-19, had certain symptoms or exposures, or otherwise failed the court’s entry criteria. They also impose screening requirements, including COVID-19 questions and, for people who are not fully vaccinated, temperature checks.
People entering the courthouses generally must wear an approved N95, KN95, or KF94 mask, use hand sanitizer, follow posted or directed distancing rules, and comply with health and hygiene signage. A person who violates the rules may be required to leave, and a person attempting to enter in violation of the standing order may be denied entry.
Disposition and Classification
Judge Paul E. Davison ordered the courtroom testing protocol described above. The provided order does not grant or deny a motion and does not reach the merits of the Valencia litigation. It is therefore classified as a procedural order because it addresses an ancillary courthouse-health matter.
Read the full 10-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.