From In re Argue, decided June 2 by Minnesota District Court Judge Charles Webber:
Nautica Alaja Argue wants to change his name to Navier Argue, explaining that he wants his name "to accurately align with his gender identity as a transgender individual." But Argue is a convicted felon {convicted [in 2022] of numerous aggravated robberies and other robberies … that involved more than a dozen separate victims} and therefore can change his name only as allowed by Minn. Stat. § 259.13.
That statute provides that when a prosecuting authority objects to a felon's name-change application (as Ramsey County has done here), a court can grant the application only if the applicant either: (1) "proves by clear and convincing evidence that the request … will not compromise public safety" (among other things), or (2) establishes that failure to allow the name change "would infringe on a constitutional right of the [applicant]." … Argue has not carried his burden of proving by "clear and convincing evidence" that changing his name "will not compromise public safety," and failure to grant his name-change request would not infringe on a recognized constitutional right.
The details related to the application of the statute are in the opinion (for more on Argue's original crimes, see this newspaper article); but here's the rejection of Argue's constitutional claim:
