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No Pseudonymity for Autistic Ex-Judge-Candidate, Alleging Failure to Accommodate Disability in Bar Investigation

Eugene Volokh | 8.10.2026 10:33 AM

From a decision last Tuesday in Doe v. Florida Bar by Magistrate Judge Robert Norway (M.D. Fla.):

Plaintiff argues that because this lawsuit challenges the actions of an "official arm of the Supreme Court of Florida," Plaintiff should be allowed to proceed under a pseudonym. Plaintiff further argues that he should be permitted to utilize a pseudonym because his medical and psychological information would be disclosed publicly, and his personal safety would be at risk….

For more details, here's an excerpt from Doe's argument for pseudonymity:

This is a civil rights action against The Florida Bar and its officials, and against a sworn law enforcement deputy individually, arising in part from a disability accommodation request and denial, and in part from facts surrounding a domestic incident in which Plaintiff sought police assistance regarding a former intimate partner. Both categories of fact involve information the Eleventh Circuit has recognized as warranting protection through pseudonymous litigation….

Plaintiff's claim under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Count IV, necessarily requires alleging that Plaintiff has autism, together with the medical and personal circumstances........

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