Identification poses a risk of retaliation of mental or physical harm. If the images were recorded when the plaintiff was a minor, then the case for privacy is even stronger because of the recognition of various courts (and values underlying the existence of a separate juvenile justice system) that minors deserve extra privacy protection because of their vulnerability. The plaintiff is particularly vulnerable to the harms of disclosure. The subject matter of the lawsuit could bring embarrassment and publicity to the plaintiff’s family. The case involves matters that are highly sensitive and of a personal nature. Not all of the factors provided below will be relevant to all cases, and there may be additional factors, which we have not considered, but here are some factors that may guide the court: 2 Also in this scenario, there is no court order requiring that all court documents protect the plaintiff’s true identity, so other court documents may reveal the plaintiff’s identity. For example, the local rules for proceeding with a pseudonym for Multnomah County Circuit Court in Oregon state that a party is only allowed to proceed with a fictitious name with a court order. Pros: This may be the simplest, least time-intensive approach.Ĭons: This approach may be a violation of the court’s local rules. Some plaintiffs simply file a complaint under a pseudonym without following any formal process. In a case where a defendant has made an effort to publicly shame the plaintiff, this risk may be more pronounced. 1Ĭons: With this approach there is no court order requiring that all court documents protect the plaintiff’s true identity, so the defendant might decide to respond in pleadings or in the press with the plaintiff’s full name. Some plaintiffs request permission to proceed with a pseudonym in the complaint. Request to proceed pseudonymously in the complaint Pros: If the order is granted, then the defendant is unable to submit documents containing the plaintiff’s full name without violating a court order.Ĭons: The court may deny the request at which point the plaintiff is left with the option of proceeding with her/his full name or dropping the case in order to avoid public attention. Some plaintiffs file separate motions to request a protective order from the court permitting them to proceed with a pseudonym.
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