Information AboutJohn Doe |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT JOHN DOE | |
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The Name John Doe is generally used in the United States as a Placeholder Name for a male party in a legal action or legal discussion whose true identity is unknown. Male Corpse s or Emergency Room patients whose identity is unknown are also known by the name John Doe. A female who is not known is referred to as '''Jane Doe'''. A child or baby whose identity is unknown can be referred to as '''Baby Doe''' or, in one particular case, as ''' Precious Doe '''. Additional people in the same family may be called James Doe, Judy Doe, etc. Widely used in the United States of America, though rarely used in other developed countries. The Doe names are often, though not always, used for anonymous or unknown Defendants . Another set of names often used for anonymous parties, particularly Plaintiff s, are Richard Roe for males and '''Jane Roe''' for females (as in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court abortion decision '' Roe V. Wade ''). The '' Oxford English Dictionary '' states that John Doe is "the name given to the Fictitious lessee of the plaintiff, in the (now obsolete) mixed action of Ejectment , the fictitious defendant being called Richard Roe". Likewise, the '' Nuttall Encyclopaedia '' states that '''John O'Noakes''' or John Noakes is a fictitious name for a litigious person, used by lawyers in actions of ejectment. Even outside the specific legal context, the name John Doe is often used in general discourse and popular culture to refer to an unknown person. A famous example is the Frank Capra film '' Meet John Doe ''. HISTORY The "John Doe" custom dates back to the reign of England 's King Edward III , during the legal debate over something called the Acts of Ejectment. This debate involved a hypothetical landowner, referred to as "John Doe", who leased land to another man, the equally fictitious "Richard Roe", who then took the land as his own and "ejected", or evicted, poor "John Doe". These names -- John Doe and Richard Roe -- had no particular significance, aside from " Doe " (a female deer) and " Roe " (a small species of deer found in Europe) being commonly known nouns at the time. But the debate became a hallmark of legal theory, and the name "John Doe" in particular gained wide currency in both the legal world and general usage as a generic stand-in for any unnamed person. "John Doe" and "Richard Roe" are, to this day, mandated in legal procedure as the first and second names given to unknown defendants in a case (followed, if necessary, by "John Stiles" and "Richard Miles"). The name "Jane Doe", a logical female equivalent, is used in many state jurisdictions, but if the case is federal the unnamed defendant is dubbed "Mary Major". In ''Friedman v. Ferguson'', 850 F.2d 689 (4th Cir. 1988), the plaintiff '' Pro Se '' somewhat famously used the following creative variations on John Doe: Brett Boe, Carla Coe, Donna Doe, Frank Foe, Grace Goe, Harry Hoe, Jackie Joe, Marta Moe, Norma Noe, Paula Poe, Ralph Roe, Sammy Soe, Tommy Toe, Vince Voe, William Woe, Xerxes Xoe. INFORMAL NAMES FOR UNKNOWN OR UNSPECIFIED PERSONS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES/REGIONS Different fictitious names are used for unknown or unspecified persons in different countries in an informal context, rather than in a court of law or similar. These names are generally understood to be generic. JOHN/JANE DOE IN POPULAR CULTURE Books
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