You can bring your case without your name on it.
In New York, survivors of sexual abuse and assault can usually file a civil case as Jane Doe or John Doe. Your name stays off the public record and out of court databases for the life of the case, and it generally stays that way after the case ends. The person you are suing will still know who you are. This page explains how anonymity works in a New York case, so you can weigh it before you decide anything.
We file under pseudonyms for New York survivors as a matter of course, and we handle high-profile matters without publicity unless a client asks otherwise.
How a pseudonym protects you ↓How a pseudonym protects you at each step.
A pseudonym keeps your name off the public record for the life of the case, and it generally stays that way after the case ends. The people involved may learn your name as a case moves forward, but it stays out of the public record, and court orders limit what they can do with it. Step through it below.
- You can ask us whether you could file anonymously without giving us your name. If you decide to go forward, what you tell us is confidential. Attorney-client confidentiality. Nothing has been filed anywhere. Whether to file at all, and whether to ask for a pseudonym. We talk about it up front, because courts look at whether you have kept your identity private up to the point you file.
- When the case is filed, we ask the court for permission to proceed as Jane or John Doe. Once it is granted, every filing, motion, and decision uses the pseudonym, and the paper linking it to your real name is usually kept under seal. A court order. New York judges grant it routinely in sexual abuse cases. None yet. The defendant now learns who you are, because the law requires it so they can respond, and a protective order can require them to keep it confidential.
- Both sides exchange documents and records. Your name may reach the defendant’s insurer, the experts each side hires, and some witnesses. A protective order we negotiate, which limits who may see identifying information and what they may do with it. Breaking it can bring sanctions from the court. Which records you are comfortable producing, with our help. Identifying details can be redacted from anything filed with the court.
- You answer questions under oath in a conference room rather than a courtroom. You usually do this under the pseudonym, and the transcript is sealed or redacted wherever it identifies you. An agreement between the lawyers, worked out before you’re ever in the room and backed by the protective order. Who is with you. One of your lawyers is always by your side, and you can ask for breaks whenever you need them.
- Most civil sexual abuse cases resolve before trial. If yours does not, whether you testify under the pseudonym, and whether jurors hear your name, is a separate request the judge decides on your facts. Courts have allowed survivors to testify as Jane Doe with the jury instructed. Courts have also required real names, which is why we plan for trial from the start. Whether to go to trial or resolve the case earlier. That choice is always yours.
- Once granted, the pseudonym generally stays on the court record after the case ends. Anyone who searches the docket finds Jane Doe, not your name. The same court order, plus whatever you negotiate in a settlement. Whether to agree to confidentiality in a settlement. That is a separate decision from the pseudonym, and the section below explains it.
How a judge decides whether you can file as Jane or John Doe.
New York appellate courts weigh the factors below, drawn from the same test federal courts in New York use. In sexual abuse cases, most of them point toward the survivor.
How sensitive the case is
Sexual abuse and assault are among the most personal matters a court hears. This factor weighs for the survivor in almost every case.
What disclosure would do to you
Whether being named could cause you serious psychological harm, or expose you to retaliation from the defendant or anyone else.
How old you were
Abuse that happened when you were a child weighs strongly toward anonymity. In Child Victims Act cases and other cases involving children, courts grant it almost every time.
Whether the defendant is prejudiced
The defendant already knows who you are and can fully defend the case. Courts ask whether keeping your name off the caption hurts that defense, and it usually does not.
The public interest
Courts weigh whether the public needs your name to understand the case. It rarely does.
Whether you have kept this private so far
Courts look at whether you have kept your identity private in connection with this matter. That is one reason we talk about anonymity in our very first conversation, before anything is filed.
Fear can be blinding.
Fear shouldn’t make this decision for you. Before you file anything, we will walk through who could learn your name at each step of the process, and talk through what protections are there for you. You lead this process, and we want you to make every decision with the facts in front of you.
Iliana Konidaris · In conversation with physicist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, 2023A pseudonym is not the same as a confidential settlement.
A pseudonym governs what the court record shows. Confidentiality in a settlement governs what you and the defendant agree not to say afterward. They are separate decisions and they can cut in opposite directions. New York law limits when an employer can require confidentiality in a harassment or discrimination settlement. Confidentiality has to be your preference. You get up to 21 days to consider a confidentiality term, and you can revoke it for 7 days after signing.
Whether to accept confidentiality, and what it is worth, belongs to you. We will tell you what the law allows before it is on the table, and your silence is yours to give, never theirs to take.
Before you choose.
Filing as Jane Doe says nothing about the strength of your case.
A pseudonym reflects the nature of the claim rather than its merit. You are held to exactly the same burden of proof as anyone else, and institutions defend against Jane Doe cases with exactly the same seriousness.
The defendant knowing is not the world knowing.
Survivors sometimes decline to file because the school or the employer will know. In most cases, they already know what happened. A pseudonym protects you from having your name sit beside these allegations in a public record for the rest of your life.
What you post can cost you the pseudonym.
Courts look at whether you have kept your identity private, and a judge can revisit a pseudonym if a plaintiff goes public with the claims while the case is pending. Telling the people close to you is different from going public. Talk to us before you post about it on social media or speak to a reporter.
Olympias Iliana Konidaris
Iliana has more than a decade of experience representing survivors of gender-based violence in New York City. She is Co-Chair of the New York City Bar Association’s Sex and Law Committee and lead counsel for the plaintiff in the Ethical Culture Fieldston School litigation.
More for New York survivors.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sue under a pseudonym like Jane Doe in New York?
Usually, yes. There is no statute that guarantees it, but New York courts apply a balancing test that weighs your privacy against the public interest and any prejudice to the defendant, and in sexual abuse and assault cases, especially under the Child Victims Act and the Adult Survivors Act, these applications are granted routinely. We ask the court for it when we file your case.
Will the person or institution I am suing know who I am?
Yes, always. A defendant cannot respond to a case without knowing who is bringing it. But a pseudonym keeps your name out of the public record, and protective orders limit what the other side can do with it, so you can hold them accountable without your name on every filing.
Who else will learn my name during the case?
The judge and court staff, the defendant's lawyers, and depending on the case, the defendant's insurer, experts, and some witnesses. Protective orders limit who can learn identifying details about you and what they may do with them, and we ask for one. The number of people who see case records grows as a case moves into discovery, which is why we explain all of this before you file.
Can I testify anonymously at a deposition or at trial?
At a deposition, usually yes, with the transcript sealed or redacted wherever it identifies you. At trial, that question is harder, and the judge decides it based on your situation. Courts have allowed survivors to testify under a pseudonym with the jury instructed, and courts have also required real names. Most civil cases resolve before trial, but we plan for that possibility from the very start.
What if my employer retaliates because I bring a case?
New York law prohibits retaliating against anyone for opposing harassment or bringing a complaint, and retaliation can be a separate claim added to your case. Your employer will know who is suing, but a pseudonym still keeps your name off the public record, including from future employers who search for your name.
My child was abused. Will their name be in the court papers?
No. In New York civil lawsuits, court rules require filings to identify a child by initials rather than by name. A parent’s name in the caption can still point to the child, so we talk through whether to ask the court to protect the parent’s name as well. A survivor who is now an adult asks the court for a pseudonym like anyone else.
You can ask us anything without telling us who you are.
Whether you can file anonymously, and what that would protect in your case, is something we can tell you in one free and confidential conversation. You do not have to identify yourself to have it.
Free and confidential. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.
- New York State Domestic and Sexual Violence Hotline, confidential, 24/71-800-942-6906
- RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline, 24/7800-656-HOPE
- Safe Horizon, New York City, 24 hours800-621-HOPE
- National Human Trafficking Hotline1-888-373-7888
If you are in danger right now, call 911.
Whether a court permits a plaintiff to proceed under a pseudonym is decided case by case under a balancing test and is never guaranteed; statements here describe the practice of New York courts as verified for this page.
This page is attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. It is general information about New York and federal law as of October 19, 2026, rather than legal advice about your situation, and the law changes. Please do not send confidential information until an attorney-client relationship is established in writing.