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Jane Doe v. James T. DeWees, et al.

Paid petition · Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, No. 2947, 3124, September Term, 2018 · judgment May 6, 2020


Certiorari denied · October 4, 2021
Pre-decision estimate: 0% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Question presented

The fundamental right of all persons to seek remedy for injury via the courts has been variously grounded in Article IV’s privileges and immunities clause, the First Amendment, and the Fourteenth Amendment. Actions seeking remedy are necessarily filed in the names of the real parties in interest. It has long been established that a person has the right to sue in the name which he has chosen for himself and the name by which he known and identified by other humans in society; this is a common law right throughout the States. Question: Do homeless people known by their common-law names and without home addresses have a constitutional right to sue in state courts for remedy of injuries?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Jane Doe

For respondent
Wendy L. Shiff
Office of the Attorney General

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Oct 04 2021
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Jul 28 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/27/2021.
  3. Jul 13 2021
    Waiver of right of respondent James DeWees to respond filed.
  4. Mar 22 2021
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due July 14, 2021)