Trans man wins right to change his name in important legal victory

A Pennsylvania court has granted a transgender man a legal name change after he challenged state laws restricting felony convicts from changing their names. The decision is one of several recent legal victories against a law that critics call unconstitutional.

Jordan Xzavier Hilliard was previously convicted of a drug-related felony and had unsuccessfully applied to change his name back in 2013. While on parole in February 2022, Hilliard applied for a legal name change again, but the court denied his application because of state law.

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Trans people in Maryland can now get help paying for the cost of changing their name

The program will cover the cost of filing a petition with a court, posting requirements, a new birth certificate, a new ID, and printing and mailing fees.

The law forbids some people with felony convictions from ever changing their names, while making others ineligible for a name change until two years after they finish parole. It was initially created to prevent ex-convicts from changing their identities to hide from authorities.

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The following November, Hilliard appealed the decision to the Pennsylvania Superior Court with the help of the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) and the Reed Smith law firm. The superior court sent back the case to a lower trial court for further examination in April 2023.

“It’s too hard to go through life being called a name that doesn’t match who I am,” Hilliard argued. “Having the wrong name on my ID has made everything harder, from filling prescriptions to keeping a job…. Having my name changed has never been about getting around the system but having respect and being safe within the system.”

At an August 1 hearing, Hilliard’s attorneys argued that the law is unjust and inconsistent with the state constitution. They said the law violated his due-process rights by unreasonably assuming that trans felons seek name changes for fraudulent reasons, Philadelphia Gay News reported. They also argued that the law violated Hilliard’s free speech rights because it forced him to speak his deadname against his will.

An expert witness, Ayden I. Scheim, said in a court declaration, “Legal name changes are a critical part of gender-affirming treatment for transgender persons and are associated with substantial reductions in the mental-health challenges they too often face…. [Name changes] may also improve social, health, and economic conditions of transgender individuals by reducing their exposure to discrimination, harassment, and violence related to gender-incongruent identity documents.”

Butler County Common Pleas Judge S. Michael Yeager granted Hilliard’s name change application.

TLDEF Litigation Director Z. Gabriel Arkles said in a statement. “We are grateful to the court for diligently and thoughtfully reviewing the evidence and granting Jordan’s name change. Coming after similar victories in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, this outcome underscores that the felony bar is unjust and inconsistent with the [Pennsylvania] constitution.”

In December 2021, both the Philadelphia and Allegheny County Courts of Common Pleas granted similar name changes for other trans applicants, with the latter court declaring the current law to be unconstitutional.