Generally speaking, plaintiffs who want to use the civil justice system must sue in their own names, even when that might damage their reputations and professional prospects. Someone suing an ex-employer, for instance, may worry that future employers might not want to hire a known litigious employee; or he may expect that the employer will argue that he was fired for sexual harassment, theft, incompetence, etc., allegations that will then be connected with his name (even as he argues that they are false and that the real reason for firing was, say, race discrimination). Likewise, a libel plaintiff may worry that the lawsuit will just further amplify the libelous allegations. But that usually doesn't suffice for pseudonymity, unless the plaintiff can show a serious (more than merely speculative) risk of physical harm stemming from being identified, or the case involves a purely legal rather than a factual challenge.
But when the case involves controversial topics that might arouse public disapproval, cases are split. For instance, a recent case rejected pseudonymity where plaintiff argued that his challenge to Twitter policies might draw attacks on his children from "unbalanced people in the world" who "hate President Trump supporters." Another rejected pseudonymity for plaintiffs objecting to a school's "Black Lives Matter" posters. But other cases allowed pseudonymity for challenges to school board policies on teaching views associated with Critical Race Theory, or on gender identity. And cases are split as to whether challenges to vaccine mandates may proceed pseudonymously.
Now let's throw in another factor: What if the case is a challenge to a university disciplinary proceeding? When it comes to challenges to sexual misconduct findings under Title IX, most courts have allowed pseudonymity (see Appendices 4a & 4b of The Law of Pseudonymous Litigation), though the Seventh Circuit has just strongly disagreed with that majority view. Should pseudonymity be more broadly allowed in all university disciplinary proceedings, whether or not they involve sexual misconduct?
One past case had indeed allowed pseudonymity where university students had sued over having been disciplined for engaging in actions that were supposedly "racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, sexist, and hostile to people with disabilities." And now we see something similar in a high-profile case arising out of the protests, Doe v. Columbia Univ. (S.D.N.Y.).
In Doe v. Columbia, the Complaint alleges (recall, as always, that these are allegations):
This action arises out of the egregious miscarriage of justice against Plaintiff, a Jewish student at Columbia University and former Israeli Defense Forces soldier, through the University's biased misconduct proceedings, which rushed to silence Plaintiff and brand him as a criminal for harmlessly exercising his freedom of expression in opposition to a pro-Hamas pro-Palestine rally, while turning a blind eye and refusing to take action against the rally organizers, who have called for violence and destruction of an entire legal state, have called for the genocide of the Jewish people generally, and have specifically threatened Jewish students on Columbia's campus….
On January 17, 2024, Plaintiff attended one of the unsanctioned pro-Hamas pro-Palestine rallies on campus, and, as a harmless expression of his speech, he sprayed into the air a novelty, non-toxic "fart" spray named "Liquid Ass" and "Wet Farts" which he purchased on Amazon for $26.11.
