Rosario v. Decker

• Court: District Court, S.D. New York
• Decided: June 22, 2021
• Docket: 1:21-cv-04815
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

ey NE □□ SUING a, \ ed "| . DOCUM ENT Si United St} Ft ECTRONICALLY FILED Southern —. —™ . ™©2MNT“SYEdDOC F: 86 Chambers & New York, Nev DATE FILED: 6/22/2021 June 21, 2021

VIA ECF Honorable Analisa Torres United States District Judge Southern District of New York 500 Pearl Street New York, New York 10007 Re: Rosario v. Decker, No. 21 Civ. 4815 (AT) Dear Judge Torres: This Office represents the government in the above-referenced immigration habeas matter. The government’s response to the petition is due June 22, 2021. See ECF No. 6. I write respectfully to request permission to file under seal a declaration regarding the petitioner’s mental health diagnoses and treatment, which also attaches his mental health medical records from the Orange County Jail. Consistent with Section [TV(A)(11) of this Court’s Individual Rules, these documents will be filed under seal on ECF and electronically related to this letter motion. The government respectfully submits that sealing is appropriate notwithstanding the presumption of access discussed by the Second Circuit in Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga, 435 F.3d 110, 119-20 (2d Cir. 2006), in light of the privacy interests of individuals in their medical records. See, e.g., Barnwell v. FCI Danbury, No. 3:10-CV-01301 (DJS), 2011 WL 5330215, at *5 (D. Conn. Nov. 3, 2011) (noting a rebuttable presumption of openness of court filings, but granting motion to seal in light of federal law’s treatment of such records as confidential pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), Pub. L. 104-191 (1996)). Courts in this District have permitted the sealing of medical records, even if specific details relating to the individual’s health appear on the record. See, e.g., United States v. Needham, 460 F. Supp. 3d 323, 324 n.1 (S.D.N.Y. 2020); United States v. Estevez, No. 18 Cr. 669 (JPO), 2020 WL 1911207, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 20, 2020); United States v. Ebbers, 432 F. Supp. 3d 421, 423 n.1 (S.D.N.Y. 2020) (noting defendant’s waiver through “extensively citing to his medical records and medical history in his own motion, in correspondence with the Court, and in open Court during oral argument on his motion”). Petitioner’s counsel consents to this request. I thank the Court for its consideration of this request.

Respectfully submitted,

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AUDREY STRAUSS United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York By: s/ Joshua E. Kahane JOSHUA E. KAHANE Assistant United States Attorney 86 Chambers Street, 3rd floor New York, New York 10007 Telephone: (212) 637-2699 Facsimile: (212) 637-2786 E-mail: joshua.kahane@usdoj.gov

cc: Counsel of Record (via ECF)

Petitioner’s privacy interest in his medical information outweighs the public right of access to judici:

ORDERED. June 22, 2021 New York, New York

ANALISA TORRES United States District Judge