John Doe

JohnDoe(male) andJaneDoe(female) aremultiple-useplaceholder namesthat are used in the British and American legal system and aside generally in the United Kingdom and the United States when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed.In the context oflaw enforcement in the United States, such names are often used to refer to acorpse whose identity is unknown or cannot be confirmed. These names are also often used to refer to a hypothetical "everyman" in other contexts, likeJohn Q. Publicor "Joe Public". There are many variants to the above names, includingJohn(orRichard)/Jane Roe,John/Jane Smith,John/Jane Bloggs, andJohnie/Janie Doeor justBaby Doefor children.A. N. Otheris also a placeholder name, mainly used in the United Kingdom – which is gender neutral – alongsideJoe/Jo Bloggsand the now occasional use of the "John" and "Jane Doe" names.
In otherEnglish-speaking countries, unique placeholder names, numbers orcodenameshave become more often used in the context of police investigations. This has included theUnited Kingdom, where usage of "John Doe" originated during theMiddle Ages. However, the legal termJohn Doe injunctionorJohn Doe orderhas survived inEnglish lawand other legal systems influenced by it. Other names, such as "Joe Bloggs" or "John Smith", have sometimes been informally used as placeholders for an every-man in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand; however such names are seldom used in legal or police circles in the same sense as John Doe.
Well-known legal cases named after placeholders include:
Under thelegal terminology of Ancient Rome, the names "Numerius Negidius" and "Aulus Agerius" were used in relation to hypotheticaldefendantsandplaintiffs.The names "John Doe" (or "John Doo") and "Richard Roe" (along with "John Roe") were regularly invoked in English legal instruments to satisfy technical requirements governing standing and jurisdiction, beginning perhaps as early as the reign of England's KingEdward III(1327–1377).Though the rationale behind the choices of Doe and Roe is unknown, there are many suggestedfolk etymologies.Other fictitious names for a person involved in litigation in medieval English law were "John Noakes" (or "Nokes") and "John-a-Stiles" (or "John Stiles").TheOxford English Dictionarystates that John Doe is "the name given to thefictitiouslessee of the plaintiff, in the (now obsolete in the UK) mixed action ofejectment, the fictitious defendant being called Richard Roe".
This usage is mocked in the 1834 English song "John Doe and Richard Roe":
This particular use became obsolete in the UK in 1852:
In the UK, usage of "John Doe" survives mainly in the form of John Doe injunction or John Doe order (see above).
Unlike the United States, the name "John Doe" does not actually appear in the formal name of the case, for example:X & Y v Persons Unknown[2007] HRLR 4.Well-known cases of unidentified decedents include "Caledonia Jane Doe" (1979), "Princess Doe" (1982) and "Walker County Jane Doe" (1980), all of whom have been identified. In 1997, New York City police discovered a decapitated body and were not able to find the killer. The body was namedPeaches (murder victim)and also Jane Doe 3. The baby victim in a 2001 murder case inKansas City, Missouri, was referred to asPrecious Doe.
In 2009, theNew York Timesreported the difficulties and unwanted attention experienced by a man actually named John Doe, who had often been suspected of using apseudonym. He had been questioned repeatedly by airport security staff. Another man named John Doe was often suspected of being an incognito celebrity.
In cases where a large number of unidentified individuals are mentioned, numbers may be appended, such as "Doe #2" or "Doe II".Operation Delego(2009), which targeted an international child sexual abuse ring, cited 21 numbered "John Does", as well as other people known by the surnames "Doe", "Roe", "Hoe" and "Poe". "John Stiles", "Richard Miles" have been used for the third and fourth participants in an action. "Mary Major" has been used in somefederal cases in the US."James Doe" and "Judy Doe" are among other common variants.
Less often, other surnames ending in-oehave been used when more than two unknown or unidentified persons are named in U.S. court proceedings,e.g.,
InMassachusetts, "Mary Moe" is used to refer to pregnant women under the age of 18 petitioning the Superior Court for ajudicial bypassexception to the parental consent requirement for abortion."Mary Moe" is also used to refer to such cases generally, i.e. "Mary Moe cases". Sometimes "Mary Doe" may be used for the individuals. Parallels in other countries include: