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Who Is John Doe?As far back as 1787 in the English Common Law, "John Doe or Richard Roe" were fictitious names used in disputed land title claims.Today, "John or Jane Doe" are fictitious names used in litigation for persons who are unknown, or where shielding a party's identity is advisable. The famous abortion case, Roe v. Wade, is a current example of using a pseudonym to protect the privacy of a party. Recent challenges to the casual use of such fictitious names have appeared. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago challenged a "Jane Doe" case on grounds no basis for concealing plaintiff's identity was given in the record. "Judicial proceedings are supposed to be open... to enable the proceedings to be monitored by the public," Judge Posner observed. There is no national standard for using pseudonyms for filing cases. Such practice is specifically permitted in about a third of the states, barred in a third, and not clear in the remaining third. Conceding there are instances where concealing actual names protects the innocent, as in cases of sexually abused minors, the trend toward concealment of names of parties, sealing documents or settlement terms, etc., has disturbed some, including Congress, which is considering a "Sunshine in Litigation Act" to keep civil cases open to public scrutiny. At the least, a persuasive reason for using a pseudonym should exist and should be included in the trial record, the 7th CCA concluded. For perspective, it is interesting to note that the briefs in the "Pentagon Papers" case and the hydrogen bomb case using pseudonyms were available to the public. |
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