Westchester County Judge Agrees to Waive Publication of Trans Name Change

Finding that transsexuals are at risk of being victimized by hate crimes, New York Supreme Court Justice William J. Giacomo (Supreme Court, Westchester County) has granted a request by a transsexual man that the usual requirement that a name-change notice be published in a local newspaper be waived in his case, and that the court files on the proceeding be sealed. The November 10 ruling, consistent with the court’s findings, identifies the name-change applicant only by his initials, E.P.L..  In the Matter of the Application of E.P.L., 2009 Westlaw 3764453 (N.Y.Sup.Ct., Westchester Co., Nov. 10, 2009).

"This is an application by Petitioner, a transgender individual, for a name change to correspond with his male gender identity," wrote the judge. "An adult does not need permission of the court to change one’s name, however, ‘public policy favors a court’s review and granting of name change applications because this makes the change of name a matter of public record.’" Court-ordered name-changes are especially useful for transsexuals, as the resulting court order can be helpful in getting the appropriate changes made on documents such as passports, drivers licenses, social security cards, and other identifying documents, as well as business forms, credit cards, and the various other ways our name is significant as we go through life.

One possible down-side of a court-ordered name change in New York, however, is that a statute, Civil Rights Law section 63, requires that a court ordered name change be published in "a designated newspaper in the county in which the order is entered within sixty days after the making of the order." The publication requirement serves an important public policy of giving notice about the name-change to the local community, but the statute provides that the court may decide to waive the publication requirement.

In this case, E.P.L., age 20 and about to start life afresh with his new name, requested that his name change not be published in Westchester County and that the court records of the case not be made accessible to the public. Under the waiver provision, Civil Rights Law section 64-a, the court can waive publication if it finds that publication would jeopardize the safety of the person whose name is being changed. The usual case in which this is done is where somebody who has been the victim of domestic violence seeks a name change as part of a process of avoiding further victimization by the perpetrator of the violence.

In this case, E.P.L. did not allege that he had been the victim of violence in the past due to his transsexuality, but rather sought to show that publishing his name change would "out" him as transsexual in the community and increase the risk of violence to him, as transsexuals are well-documented victims of hate violence.

Justice Giacomo described numerous studies showing the vulnerability of transsexuals to hate violence, and noted particularly the recent enactment of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act by the federal government, expanding the definition of federal hate crimes to include those perpetrated because of the gender identity of the victim. The judge found that E.P.L.’s request was well-grounded, concluding, "In short, while petitioner did not, and hopefully could not, cite a personal experience of violence or crime against him based on his gender identity, he has made a compelling argument as to why, at the age of twenty, he has a right to feel threatened for his personal safety in the event his transgender status is made public."

In addition to waiving publication, Justice Giacomo ordered that the court files on this case be sealed, "and shall be hereinafter opened only by order of the court for good cause shown or at the request of the applicant."

The court’s opinion was published in the New York Law Journal on Monday, November 16, complying with the court’s order by not identifying E.P.L. by name.

Comments

[caprice]

Very interesting. At the West Village Name Change Clinic we always put in a request for this for every trans petitioner, and I believe it has been uniformly denied in every case for the last 6 years. It's good to see that a judge has finally accepted the argument.

[Art Leonard]

Especially good that the judge's opinion is published - at least on Westlaw and in the NY Law Journal. That means you can attach a copy to your requests and perhaps it will carry some weight in future cases. A trans name-change order is more than a mere name change, since, as petitioner argued, it "outs" the individual as transsexual, which may pose barriers in his/her life going forward. Actually, the publication requirement strikes me as archaic, and perhaps there should be a legislative goal to get it repealed.

[acg]

I am also involved with the West Village clinic and have helped a lot of folks fill out name change petitions -- they are often horrified and/or deeply confused by the publication requirement. It would be wonderful to get it changed legislatively, though I don't know one way or the other if that is a realistic goal.