GREGORY ISOM, APPELLANT,
v.
THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE TENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, APPELLEE
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Gregory Isom, an inmate, appealed the circuit court's dismissal of his petition to change his name from Gregory Keith Isom to Talib Muhammad Abdullah for religious purposes. The Florida District Court of Appeal reversed, holding that a name change petition should generally be granted unless sought for wrongful or fraudulent purposes, and that the trial court's concerns about administrative burdens on the Department of Corrections did not provide a valid basis for dismissal.
A petition for name change should generally be granted unless sought for a wrongful or fraudulent purpose. The trial court erred in dismissing appellant's petition based solely on potential administrative burdens to the Department of Corrections, particularly where the petition was facially sufficient, stated a religious purpose, and contained no evidence of ulterior or illegal purposes.
[1] A petition for a change of name should generally be granted unless sought for a wrongful or fraudulent purpose.
[2] A person may adopt a name other than their own at common law, absent a fraudulent, criminal, or wrongful purpose.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“At common law a person could adopt another name at will, absent a fraudulent, criminal, or wrongful purpose.”
Establishes the foundational common law principle underlying the right to change one's name
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant Gregory Isom, an inmate at Avon Park Correctional Institution, filed a sworn petition to change his name to Talib Muhammad Abdullah, stating…
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SCHEB, Acting Chief Judge.
Appellant, Gregory Isom, appeals from the circuit court’s final order dismissing his petition for change of name. We reverse.
While an inmate at Avon Park Correctional Institution, appellant petitioned the court to change his name from Gregory Keith Isom to Talib Muhammad Abdullah. Appellant’s petition was sworn to and facially complied with all of the requirements of section 68.07, Florida Statutes (1981).
In dismissing appellant’s petition the court stated that “to permit the change of name at this time would obviously create problems for the Department of Corrections and conceal from law enforcement officers his past record.” Appellant filed a motion for rehearing stating, among other things, that:
[T]aking on the muslim name of Talib Muhammad Abdullah would not imply that all the records within the Department of Corrections will have to be changed. In fact, petitioner will not force officials of the Department of Corrections to alter the records by placing his new name on them.
In an amicus curiae brief requested by this court, the Department of Corrections takes the position that the decision to grant a change of name is a matter between the petitioner and the court so long as the court does not issue an order to the Department. Should the court consider issuing an order affecting the Department’s procedures, the Department adds, it would request a hearing to explain in detail the administrative burdens and costs in changing some, or all, of its records.1
At common law a person could adopt another name at will, absent a fraudulent, criminal, or wrongful purpose. Moskowitz v. Moskowitz, 118 N.H. 199, 385 A. 2d 120 (1978). The codification of this common law right was intended primarily to aid the individual’s right to a name change at will, giving the advantage of a public record to document the change. 57 Am.Jur,2d Name § 11; In re Application of Knight, 36 Colo. App. 187, 537 P. 2d 1085 (1975); 79 A.L.R.3d 559.
In keeping with the common law tradition, in Florida a person may adopt a name other than his or her own as long as no fraudulent or wrongful purposes are involved. See Adoption of Long, 56 So. 2d 450 (Fla.1952). However, adherence to the statutory requirements affords protection to both the applicant and the general public. Therefore, a petition under this statute should generally be granted unless sought for a wrongful or fraudulent purpose. In re Application of Knight; 65 C.J.S. Names § 11; see also In re Hooper, 436 So. 2d 401 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983); § 68.07(j), Fla.Stat. (1981).
Here, appellant’s petition states that he desires to change his name only for religious purposes, and that he has no intention to further an ulterior or illegal purpose. The trial court’s conclusion that the granting of petitioner’s name change would create problems for the Department of Corrections and law enforcement officers is not supported by the record. See In re Petition of Knight; Petition of Alexander, 260 Pa. Super. 371, 394 A. 2d 597 (1978). Therefore, in light of appellant’s facially sufficient petition for name change and the lack of any evidence to support any ulterior or illegal purpose, the trial court erred in summarily dismissing appellant’s petition for a change of name.
Accordingly, we reinstate appellant’s petition and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
RYDER and DANAHY, JJ., Concur. . The Department points out that if an inmate has a grievance concerning the Department’s actions in response to a name change, the inmate may file a grievance pursuant to Rule 33-3.07, Florida Administrative Code.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Gosby v. Third Judicial Circuit, 586 So. 2d 1056 (Fla. 1991)…sufficient name change petition should be granted where there is no evidence to support any ulterior or illegal purpose. See In re Keppro, 573 So. 2d 140 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991); Davis v. State, 510 So. 2d 1124 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987); Isom v. Circuit Court, 437 So. 2d 732 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983). The real issue in this case is whether the trial court can make Gosby’s physical presence at a hearing a condition precedent to granting a name change under section 68.-07, Florida Statutes (1987). Under this statute, a petition…
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Casey v. State, 604 So. 2d 1281 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992)…ly denied appellant’s facially sufficient petition and committed reversible error in doing so. In Re Keppro, 573 So. 2d 140 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991); Davis v. State, 510 So. 2d 1124 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987); Isom v. Circuit Court of the Tenth Judicial Circuit, 437 So. 2d 732 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983). A facially sufficient petition for a [*1282] name change should be granted where there is no evidence to support any ulterior or illegal purpose. Keppro, 573 So. 2d at 142; Isom, 437 So. 2d at 733-734. We recognize that the tria…
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In re Name Change Petition OF Bryan Patrick Mullin, 892 So. 2d 1214 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005)…er is a convicted felon and has not had his civil rights restored. A facially sufficient petition for name change should be granted in the absence of evidence of a wrongful or fraudulent purpose. Isom v. Circuit Court of the Tenth Judicial Circuit, 437 So. 2d 732 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983). Section 68.07(2)(a)-(k) sets forth the information that a petition for a change of name must include to be facially sufficient. At issue here is paragraph (k), which requires a petitioner [*1215] to state that his “civil rights h…
Previewing 3 of 10 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- In re Adoption of Long, 56 So. 2d 450 (Fla. 1952)
- In re the Petition of Kerry Mack Hooper, 436 So. 2d 401 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983)