Allegheny County judge grants name changes sought by 2 transgender women with prior felonies

An Allegheny County Common Pleas judge on Wednesday said that a Pennsylvania law barring people with felony convictions from legally changing their names is unconstitutional.

Judge Christine Ward then granted name change petitions to two transgender women with prior felony convictions.

Chauntey Mo’Nique Porter and Priscylla Renee Von Noaker testified that their male legal names caused them emotional distress, made them victims of discrimination and kept them from feeling comfortable in social and health care settings.

They were represented by attorneys from the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund and pro bono counsel at Reed Smith.

Chauntey Mo’Nique Porter, a transgender woman from the Hill District, is arguing in court today that she should be permitted a legal name change despite having a felony record.

In PA, people with felonies aren’t typically allowed to change their names. pic.twitter.com/J1VW6wv6qk

— Julia Felton (@JuliaFelton16) December 15, 2021

Porter, 42, of Pittsburgh’s Hill District, said her birth name, Scott Porter Jr., didn’t represent her after she had completed the surgical procedures to change her gender.

“I am a woman and Scott Porter does not fit my gender,” she said. “It is for a man. And I am not a man — I’m a woman.”

Porter was convicted of aggravated assault in 2008. After serving 10 years in prison, Porter said she felt she had served her time and deserved to move on with her life, including a legal name change.

Porter — who serves as vice president of Trans YOUniting and founded The Black Diamond Project to honor of her transgender sister who died last year — testified that the legal name on her government identification has caused her to be the victim of discrimination. Any time she needs to show identification in instances such as going to a club, receiving medical care or applying for a job, she has to reveal that she is transgender.

The name on her ID is Scott, though the gender marker is “F” for female, she said.

“It’s hard to live as a woman when someone’s always calling you Scott,” Porter said.

In one instance, she said, a man followed her out of a club and verbally and physically attacked her after a bouncer loudly announced she was transgender while reading her ID.

Porter burst into tears after hearing the judge’s ruling Wednesday.

“I’m so happy,” she said. “That’s the only word I think of right now.”

She’s been waiting for this moment, not only to legally affirm her chosen name, but also because she’s been waiting for a name change to get married. Porter is engaged, but refused to tie the knot until she was sure her marriage license would reflect the name with which she identifies.

She said she didn’t want the preacher to ask her fiance to take Scott as his husband, but rather to take Chauntey as his wife.

“I want to finally walk down the street with my head held high and know my transition is complete,” she said.

Priscylla Renee Von Noaker, who was granted a legal name change along with Porter, said she was raised as a girl and has always identified with a name other than her birth name.

The 71-year-old from McKeesport was given the name Robert Lee. But when she was in school, she went simply by Lee. Now, she goes by Priscylla.

“Other than being on my birth certificate, it’s never really been my name,” she said of the name Robert.

Because she was convicted of rape in 1987, she was not previously allowed to change her name.

Von Noaker said she identifies as a Native American Two Spirit. Her religious beliefs teach that a male can take on the role of a female or vice versa, and so she has identified as a female for most of her life.

“My mother raised me as a girl,” she said. “Mentally, I’m more female. I always played with girls’ toys.”

She said using the name Robert in medical settings where legal identification is required is confusing, and it leaves her feeling humiliated and depressed.

“I’m being compelled by others to use a name that really isn’t mine,” she said. “It isn’t me.”

Ayden Scheim, a social epidemiologist and professor at Drexel University, testified that having a name that doesn’t match a transgender person’s gender can lead to mental health issues, including anxiety and depression. It also can lead to people skipping out on necessary medical care, he said.

Studies show that using a person’s chosen name decreases the chance of suicidal thoughts and actions and increases the odds of employment, Scheim said.

Attorneys argued that the felony name bar, which was enacted in Pennsylvania in 1998, is unconstitutional because it violates free speech provisions and is based on a presumption that prior felons only change their names for fraudulent purposes.

Attorney Patrick Yingling argued that safeguards are in place to ensure people with felony records who seek to change their names aren’t doing so for fraudulent motivations. These people have to provide notice of the name change to the Attorney General’s office, state police and county prosecutor, he said.

Barring all people with felony convictions from changing their name violates due process and is based on an assumption that is not universally true, he said.

The Attorney General’s office did not offer any defense of the felony name bar, and no representative was present in court.

The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas similarly granted a name change to Monae Alvarado despite a felony record, with the same legal team.

“I hope this (will) help change the law that ultimately banned trans people who have committed a certain crime from getting their name change to match their gender identity,” Alvarado wrote in a Tweet after the court victory.