“That’s Not My Name”: The Linguistic Violence of Misnaming Parties in Court Proceedings

Abstract: This Article calls attention to the harms done when parties are misnamed in legal proceedings. Misnaming, which many might initially consider trivial, is properly understood as a form of linguistic violence that can inflict dignitary harms as well as have material consequences. Misnaming takes on a different valence when it is done by the state. This Article focuses on the misnaming of Indigenous, Asian, and Latine people, beginning first with the way misnaming is done by the administrative state. The authors then discuss misnaming as it has operated in legal proceedings, providing both historical and contemporary examples from federal and Washington state proceedings. The Article then describes the dignitary harms and material consequences when the state misnames parties. The problem is particularly acute for Latine people because state actors are inconsistent in how names are recorded. As a result, many Latine people accumulate AKAs or aliases based on inconsistent recording of accented letters or inconsistent recording of patrilineal and matrilineal surnames. These AKAs or aliases may impact police encounters or trial court determinations of pretrial release. The material consequences extend beyond the legal system and can impact hiring decisions by employers or leasing decisions by landlords who may regard the applicant with suspicion when they learn of the AKAs or aliases through the ubiquitous use of background checks. The Article closes with suggestions to address misnaming by the state and in legal proceedings.