Public Has Right to Access Sex Offender Litigants' Identities,
at least under Washington law; the litigants had unsuccessfully sued to challenge disclosure of their sex offender records until the Washington Public Records Act.
Right of Access
Alleged Panama Papers Leaker Still May Not Sue in Federal Court While Hiding His Name from the Court
"Plaintiff is entitled ... to make his own judgment about whether disclosing his identity under seal to the Court would pose an inordinate risk to his personal safety. But he is not entitled ... to special dispensation from the well-established requirements of the law."
"When Someone Loses His Livelihood as a Result of Government Action,
he has a right to know how and why the government took that action.”
"Most Litigants Would Prefer Not to Have Their Medical Problems Published in the Public Records"
But that’s not adequate reason to allow them to litigate pseudonymously, a district court rules.
No Sealing for Defendant After Pro Se Plaintiffs' Sex Trafficking Allegations Were Dismissed
A good illustration of the strong policy of openness in American court cases, even when defendants argue that unfounded allegations in court records are intruding on their privacy and damaging their reputations.
Court Rejects Attempt to Block Media from Reporting Name of Pseudonymous Litigant
The court required the university defendants to keep plaintiff's identity confidential (common in pseudonymous Title IX cases), but refused to extend this to media, students, and others.
"Protecting People from Their Own Religious Communities: Jane Doe in Church and State,"
a new article of mine, is now available at the Journal of Law & Religion.
Challenge to NYU Law Review's Race and Sex Preferences May Proceed Pseudonymously, at Least for Now
[UPDATE: Added a brief discussion of pseudonymity and class actions.]
A Rare Order Calling for Defendant-Side Pseudonymity,
and a much more common rejection of plaintiff-side pseudonymity.
Court Upholds Denial of Pseudonymity to Plaintiff in #TheyLied Libel Suit Stemming from Title IX Complaint
"Appellant wants the option to hide behind a shield of anonymity in the event he is unsuccessful in proving his claim, but he would surely identify himself if he were to prove his claims."
Records of Library Removal Requests, Like Other Library User Records, Are Exempt from State Public Records Law
The case stemmed from user challenges asking that a public library remove Gender Queer: A Memoir, or at least keep children from getting it.
Foreigners: When You File in U.S. Courts, You Should Expect U.S. Rules of Public Access to Your Filings
"Plaintiff states that he was not aware that his complaint would be made public, and he suggests that, under Korean law, the personal information of litigants is not made public." But "[w]hether or not he intended to do so, by initiating this action in a United States District Court, Plaintiff has made his name a matter of public record."
No, Court Won't Order Removal of Online Copies of the Decision in Your Online Case, Even if
you argue that you're losing job opportunities because employers see that decision.
University's Denying Fellowship to Student Isn't "Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress"
And the case in which the student made such a claim can't be sealed, either.
No Pseudonymity or Sealing for Japanese User Seeking to Use American Courts to Subpoena Twitter Critics' Names
"Applicant's warning of a prima facie violation of Japanese law's privacy protections fails to constitute a harm severe enough" to justify pseudonymity.
California Public Records Requester Can File Anti-SLAPP Motion Objecting to Attempt to Block Request
The motion allows early dismissal of a lawsuit, here the lawsuit that aimed to block UC Irvine from responding to a public records request from the Center for Scientific Integrity (the Retraction Watch people).
Court Rejects Lawsuit Claiming Police Discriminatorily Refused to Prosecute Rapist
The opinion was decided July 21, but was originally issued sealed; it was just unsealed today, in response to my motion to unseal.
Why We Should Care About Pseudonymity in Litigation
Like other features of legal procedure—such as the jury trial, the mechanism for appointing judges, the availability of appeal—pseudonymity both deeply affects the fairness of litigation and, often, the substantive outcomes.
No Sealing of Plaintiff's Expunged Court Records That Are Central to Plaintiff's Libel Claim
"[T]he fate of Plaintiff's claims hinges to some extent on the truth or falsity of Defendant's statements regarding Plaintiff's conviction of a crime. Whether Defendant's statements are false—a determination that relies at least in part on Plaintiff's criminal records—is directly relevant to the public."
First Circuit Allows Police Officer Pseudonymity in Federal Lawsuit Over "Exculpatory Evidence List" Placement
I had asserted the contrary, arguing that the state allowance of pseudonymity in trying to get removal from the list didn't justify pseudonymity in a federal court lawsuit seeking damages for such placement; but the court disagreed.
Virginia Court Rejects Retroactive Attempt to Seal Name Change Records
The decision came despite the applicant's objection, ten months after the name change, that the change was needed to prevent "potential endangerment and/or discrimination through publicly disclosed record of the transgender applicant."
Risk of Physical Harm to Woman Involved in Ghislaine Maxwell Litigation May Justify Sealing Her Identity,
holds the Second Circuit, though it leaves it to the trial court to consider the facts further.
Can Plaintiff Who Lost a Case Get Retroactively Pseudonymized, Because of Fear of Employment Consequences?
Two Central District of California case reach different results.
No Pseudonymity for College Student Alleging Racist Mistreatment by Baseball Coach
"There is an inherent inequality in allowing an accuser to proceed pseudonymously while the defendant is forced to defend himself publicly."
Court Unseals and Depseudonymizes Student's Settled First Amendment Lawsuit Against University
An illustration that courts are often willing to reconsider stipulated sealing and pseudonymization decisions when members of the public or media object.
