From Doe v. Chutkan, decided today by Chief Judge James Boasberg (D.D.C.):
In this pro se lawsuit, Plaintiff John Doe seeks, first, a court declaration that President- elect Trump is constitutionally ineligible to serve as President and the Supreme Court's recent decision holding otherwise is "void"; and, second, an order requiring Defendants Judge Tanya Chutkan and Attorney General Merrick Garland to preserve and provide Plaintiff grand-jury materials and other documents so that he and other private citizens may "prosecute" President-elect Trump.
Plaintiff moves here to proceed pseudonymously on the ground that bringing this lawsuit will "expose [him] to retribution." As Plaintiff has not made the detailed showing required to overcome the presumption in favor of disclosure, the Court will deny the Motion, subject to any further consideration by the United States District Judge to whom this case is randomly assigned….
Generally, a complaint must identify the plaintiffs. That requirement reflects the "presumption in favor of disclosure [of litigants' identities], which stems from the 'general public interest in the openness of governmental processes,' and, more specifically, from the tradition of open judicial proceedings." A party moving to proceed pseudonymously thus "bears the weighty burden of both demonstrating a concrete need for such secrecy, and identifying the consequences that would likely befall it if forced to proceed in its own name." As a result, the court must "'balance the litigant's legitimate interest in anonymity against countervailing interests in full disclosure'" ….
The court concludes that the public interest in identifying the plaintiff is especially strong here:
