Wednesday, December 16, 2015

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the denial of a name-change request, holding that the denial did not violate the applicant's religious rights.

The religion?

Wiccan.

The name

His desired name is Manasseh-Invictus Auric Thutmose V.

The applicant is a prisoner serving a second-degree murder and kidnapping sentence for the death of a 10-year-old child.

The victim's father objected.

The victim's father, his counsel Michael Chinman, and two of the other nine objectors spoke in opposition. The victim's father briefly described the crimes Jaynes had committed and noted Jaynes's prior use of aliases and the number of outstanding warrants he had when he was arrested. Chinman argued that a name change would not be in the public interest, given the seriousness of Jaynes's prior offenses. The additional two objectors echoed that position.

The court

in order to proceed on his free exercise claim, Jaynes must make a threshold showing that changing one's name is an important component of the Wiccan religion, and that, absent such a change, he would be limited in the exercise of his religious beliefs. This he has failed to do. At the hearing, Jaynes provided a first-person narrative describing the origins of his chosen new name, how several Biblical characters changed their names during the course of their relationship with God, and how he, similarly, would like to use the new name God has provided him. Jaynes did not describe, however, any tenets of the Wiccan religion beyond the existence of certain deities; how he, specifically, goes about his religious practice; or how a denial of his petition would hinder the exercise of his Wiccan faith. Nor does he challenge the judge's finding that "although name changes are encouraged, they are not essential under his Wiccan religion."

(Mike Frisch)

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2015/12/the-massachusetts-supreme-judicial-court-affirmed-the-denial-of-a-name-change-request-holding-that-the-denial-did-not-violat.html