diff --git a/hed/validator/sidecar_validator.py b/hed/validator/sidecar_validator.py
index 1db14a23..e0f33f8a 100644
--- a/hed/validator/sidecar_validator.py
+++ b/hed/validator/sidecar_validator.py
@@ -199,8 +199,6 @@ def _check_dict(key, data_dict):
     @staticmethod
     def _check_list(key, data_list):
         for sub_data in data_list:
-            if sub_data == key:
-                return True
             if SidecarValidator._check_for_key(key, sub_data):
                 return True
         return False
diff --git a/tests/validator/test_sidecar_validator.py b/tests/validator/test_sidecar_validator.py
index 2c13897d..20a0cb7a 100644
--- a/tests/validator/test_sidecar_validator.py
+++ b/tests/validator/test_sidecar_validator.py
@@ -99,4 +99,4 @@ def test_bad_structure_HED_in_ignored(self):
     '''
         sidecar = Sidecar(io.StringIO(sidecar_with_na_json))
         issues = sidecar.validate(self.hed_schema)
-        self.assertEqual(len(issues), 3)
\ No newline at end of file
+        self.assertEqual(len(issues), 2)
\ No newline at end of file