From Publicola v. Lomenzo, decided today by the Second Circuit (Judges Robert Sack, Richard Sullivan, and Eunice Lee):
Appellant, proceeding pro se and under the pseudonym "Publius Publicola," appeals from the district court's judgment (1) denying his motion to proceed under a pseudonym and (2) dismissing his claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against various state and municipal officials and agencies for actions they took in response to his efforts to seal records pertaining to criminal cases from his youth. In this appeal, Appellant has signed his briefs and other submissions to the Court using a pseudonym, without either obtaining the Court's authorization to do so or clearly disclosing his identity to the Court. After the Court ordered him to refile his briefs under his real name, with leave to request filing under seal should circumstances justify the filing of a redacted version on the public docket, Appellant submitted a letter indicating his refusal to comply with the Court's order.
In light of Appellant's letter, we are tasked primarily with deciding (1) whether a litigant may comply with Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 32(d)—which requires that "[e]very brief, motion, or other paper filed with the [C]ourt [of Appeals] must be signed by the party filing the paper"—by signing his submissions under a pseudonym; and (2) whether a pro se appellant's failure to comply with that requirement warrants dismissal of his appeal. We conclude that, because papers signed under a pseudonym cannot adequately "ensure[] that a readily identifiable attorney or party takes responsibility for every paper," they do not satisfy Rule 32(d). We further conclude that under Rule 3(a)(2) and our precedents emphasizing the obligation of pro se litigants to comply with Court orders, dismissal is warranted here….
