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Law360, New York (March 19, 2020, 1:59 PM EDT ) A New York Supreme Court Justice in Queens County has tested positive for COVID-19, marking the first reported case in the state judiciary.
Midtown Manhattan is seen from New York's Queens borough. A New York Supreme Court Justice in Queens has tested positive for COVID-19, court officials said Thursday. (AP)
The judge handles matrimonial matters, including divorces, disputes over child custody and visitation with parents. Court calendars indicate that some parents represented themselves before Justice McGowan in court in the days before she was diagnosed.
"We are still compiling a list of all people who were in Justice McGowan's Part during the last 2 weeks," said Lucian Chalfen, spokesman for the state courts. "Justice McGowan's courtroom, robing room and the back corridor to both rooms were cleaned last night and will be cleaned again."
Justice McGowan's chambers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
One family law attorney, who appeared before Justice McGowan on her last day in court, told Law360 on Thursday afternoon that he had spent the day with her on March 13 for a divorce case that was set to go on trial, but was ultimately settled.
He was surprised by the news of her diagnosis.
"Yes, it looks like I did appear on that fateful day," said Nathan DeCorpo of The Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo LLP.
"We were there for several hours," said DeCorpo. "She didn't know. No one in the courtroom knew she was infected."
"Periodically, we would conference with her," DeCorpo said, recalling that the judge often sits around a conference table with attorneys — although he couldn't recall if she had done so that day. "She was in and out of the courtroom."
"It seemed inevitable that I'd be exposed in one way or another," said DeCorpo. "I'm trying to think if I've seen other judges since."
DeCorpo said he feels fine but plans to talk to his doctor.
Another attorney who appeared before the judge on March 12 told Law360 on Thursday that he heard the news of Justice McGowan's illness through the grapevine on Wednesday night.
"I hope she feels better and gets well," said Howard Teichner of Kelton & Teichner, praising her as a good judge who helped settle a divorce for his client that day. Teichner noted that he had not been in "close quarters" with the judge during his appearance.
A third attorney, who appeared before Justice McGowan on March 11, had also heard the news through word of mouth.
"I am surprised that there was no official notification, but we are in unchartered waters and it is a state of emergency," said Jennifer Arditi of Aiello & Cannick. "I am actually quite concerned not for myself, but for the fact that she certainly appeared to be in good health when I last saw her."
When asked why the attorneys had not yet been notified, Chalfen said court authorities are "reaching out to a large volume of people."
The New York state court system has progressively ramped up restrictions on court appearances, with all new jury trials postponed on March 13 and all "nonessential" proceedings suspended on March 15. The state judiciary held its first video arraignment on March 17 in Manhattan criminal court.
In a new order on Thursday afternoon, "to mitigate the adverse effects of the COVID-19 outbreak," Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks ordered that pending civil matters that require in-person appearances or travel are "strongly discouraged."
"In no event will participants in civil litigation be penalized if discovery compliance is delayed for reasons relating to the coronavirus public health emergency," Judge Marks said in his order.
Approximately 90% of the state court system's 16,000 employees are either not working or working remotely as the coronavirus spreads rapidly across New York, according to Chalfen.
New York state authorities reported 2,469 positive COVID-19 cases in New York City and 4,152 cases statewide as of 1:20 p.m. on Thursday.
--Editing by Alyssa Miller.
Update: This story has been updated with comments from Chalfen, Judge Lawrence Marks and attorneys who recently appeared before Justice McGowan.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
