Transgender Women Challenge Pa. Name-Change Rules
By Matt Fair Law360 (May 29, 2019, 8:29 PM EDT) --
A trio of transgender women filed suit in Pennsylvania court on Wednesday alleging that state rules regarding name changes for ex-felons created unfair complications in seeking health care and employment opportunities. The women said the state’s so-called irrebuttable conviction bar, which precludes people convicted of felonies from changing their names, forced them to continue using their male birth names when visiting doctors or applying for jobs and violated due process and free speech rights.
“The right to control one’s name and self-identity is a fundamental right, as is the right to avoid disclosure of sensitive personal matters,” said Luke Debevec, an attorney with Reed Smith LLP representing the three women. “A person ought to be able to obtain a name change to match their gender.”
The complaint filed in Commonwealth Court by Chauntey Porter, Alonda Talley and Priscylla Von Noaker said the bar was adopted by the General Assembly in the late 1990s to prevent fraud that might be committed as a result of allowing people to change their legal name after being convicted of certain crimes, including murder, rape and aggravated assault. The law required courts on the receiving end of a name-change petition to submit the request to the Pennsylvania State Police to ensure compliance. Since this step takes place before a hearing over a possible name change can take place, the complaint said that individuals like Porter, Talley and Von Noaker had been deprived of an opportunity to make arguments. Unable to obtain a name change, the women said they had each faced serious challenges as they continued to use legal documents, including driver's licenses, that identified them as male. Porter said doctors told her that she did not qualify for sex reassignment surgery because her continued use of her legal name meant she was not “living as a woman.” Talley said she had faced questions when appearing to vote and when trying to pay bills over the telephone.
“As a result, Ms. Talley is forced to inform strangers that she is transgender or forced to come to an office in person to complete tasks that others can do quickly over the phone,” the complaint said. Von Noaker said she was forced to use her legal name during recent hospital stays after suffering two heart attacks.
The women claim that the bar violates their due process rights under the Pennsylvania Constitution, including their right to privacy and to protect their own reputation. “The bar’s irrebuttable presumption that individuals previously convicted of felonies are engaging in fraud when they seek a name change unconstitutionally infringes upon the right to control one’s name,” the complaint said. The complaint also claims that the bar violates the Pennsylvania Constitution’s guarantee against compelled speech by requiring them to use a name they do not want and do not identify with. They asked the court to change the law to allow them and other transgender individuals to have a chance to present evidence that their desire to change their names was based on an earnest expression of their gender identity.
A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of State did not immediately return a message seeking comment on Wednesday.
The petitioners are represented by James Martin, Gregory Vose, Zachary Roman, M. Patrick Yingling, Luke Debevec, Matthew Rosso, Christian Saucedo and Todd Kim of Reed Smith LLP, and Noah Lewis of the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund. Counsel information for the state was not immediately available.
The case is Scott Porter AKA Chauntey Mo’nique Porter et al. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, case number 303 MD 2019, before the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court. --Editing by Haylee Pearl. http://bit.ly/2WEuPjm
See this link: https://www.law360.com/employment/articles/1164074/transgender-women-challenge-pa-name-change-rules?nl_pk=8a8ce1fc-75c7-4ce5-917e-8a07a0ec3dcd&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=employment
