NY - NAME AND SEX CHANGE APPLICATION SEALED EVEN THOUGH NOT REQUESTED

Perhaps the court took this step, as the petitioner was pro se.

MATTER OF JW, 2025 NY Slip Op 25048 - NY: King Co.
City Court, Civil Court 2025:

"This Honorable Court Decides and Orders Sua Sponte, upon Application of Petitioner JW identified as non-binary seeking Declaratory Judgment for Name Change and Sex Designation to X, pursuant to the Civil Rights Law §64-a and §67-b to Seal Court Records is hereby under separate Sealed Order Granted.

Herein, Petitioner seeks a change of name and sex designation change to X to coincide with their non-binary identification, in one of the very limited matters in which this court sits as a court of equity pursuant to the 2021 Gender Recognition Act of the Civil Rights Law Article 6. In sitting as a court of equity in such ex-parte petition for declaratory judgment "`the court may grant any type of relief within its jurisdiction appropriate to the proof whether or not demanded, imposing such terms as may be just'"(Piccirilli v. Benjamin, 226 AD3d 1233, 1238 [3d Dept 2024]), citing State v. Barone, 74 NY2d 332 [1989]), quoting CPLR 3017 [a]). There are broader considerations of the underpinning legislative intent and history beyond the text of the black letter law in decision-making of such declaratory judgments in equity. Herein, the issue before this court is whether within its powers in equity may sua sponte seal court records of a change of name and sex designation pursuant to NY CLS Civ R §64-a and §67-b where Petitioner does not seek the prayer of relief to seal. This is distinguished from the recently decided matter in which the issue presented was as to the unintended legislative internal inconsistency of the "totality of the circumstances test" pursuant to NY CLS Civ R §64-a as applied to a Transgender person who requests sealing (Matter of KA, 2025 NY Slip Op 50128[U] [Civ Ct, Kings County 2025]). This Court is sensitive to not intend to patronize, to not relegate to victimhood nor to detract from the outward Pride of who they are as Transgender people. However, as a Court of Equity, this Court has "the power to dispose of all matters at issue and to grant complete relief in accordance with the equities of the case" (id. at 1237).

To grant full relief here, even where not demanded, requires comprehensive consideration of grave matters of societal public safety protections to Petitioner, not merely confined to this court's geographical jurisdiction. Rather, this Petition is indelible in perpetuity for all to see not merely in Brooklyn, New York City but extending nationally as well as globally. Petitioner's safety in Brooklyn does not necessarily extend to wherever the Transgender person's life may take them in the future. This is indeed a significant life altering change for a member of a community that faces unfortunate consequential public ridicule, discrimination and hate crimes.^[1] Similarly to de jure decree that a Black slave is 3/5 of a human being does not make it factually so, likewise, the de jure decree or edict of the non-existence of Transgender people does not make it factually so. However, such a de jure decree indeed further bolsters the need for public safety protections of that denied demographic. Regardless of the discriminatory de jure edict proclaiming the non-existence of Transgender people, a hate crime against a Transgender person, like any other crime, is against The People. NY CLS Civ R §67 statutorily establishes the sex designation X, which is not universally accepted and actually scorned and reviled in some sectors of society here and abroad. It may be argued that sealing is contrary to a proud Transgender, non-binary, or gender nonconforming person's intent. Historically, the Interracial demographic has statutorily been defined to apply exclusively to Black and White mixed blood pursuant to overruled miscegenation laws, which now have freedom of choice of racial classification without criminal recrimination (see Loving v. Virginia, 388 US 1, 2 [1967]). Prior to the landmark case, the de jure one- drop-rule^[2] statutorily mandated the Interracial to be classified as the Black demographic even though defied by immutable characteristics. Once overturned, a non-Black appearing Interracial with no Black characteristics may choose to openly and proudly publicly choose to self-identify as such. Similarly, the Transgender, non-binary or gender nonconforming person may also choose to live openly and proudly and publicly choose to self-identify as such. Therefore, perhaps in choosing the X gender marker in and of itself is intended to be open and proud. Accordingly, this intent to not choose to seal is an extension and reaffirmation of their proud identification. However, this court in equity is tasked with the holistic implications of its decision upon Petitioner, even where, as here, sealing of the court records is not being demanded.

For the foregoing reasons, This Court Sitting In Equity, notwithstanding that the relief of Sealing was not prayed for relief, in the best interest, and what is just, and right, and good for Petitioner JW's Change of Name and Change of Sex Designation, pursuant to Civil Rights Law §64-a, §67-b, the court records attendant thereto are hereby Ordered Sealed, Sua Sponte.

This constitutes the opinion, order and decision of This Honorable Court.

[1] Office of the New York State Comptroller, https://www.osc.ny.gov/reports/concerning-growth-hate-crime-new-york-state-8/19/2024.

[2] PBS, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jefferson/mixed/onedrop.html."

ADOPTEES' RIGHT TO RECEIVE BIRTH CERTIFICATE

Just signed into law yesterday. Below are the memorandums from the NYS senate bill :

"BILL NUMBER: S3419

SPONSOR: MONTGOMERY
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the public health law and the domestic
relations law, in relation to authorizing adoptees to obtain a certified
copy of their birth certificate

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Restores the civil right of adult adoptees to receive a certified copy
of their original long form birth certificate if 18 years of age or
older. The specific provisions are intended to ensure that all adult
adoptees adopted in New York will have the same unimpeded right as non-
adopted people born in New York to access such birth certificates or, if
not available, the true and correct information that would have appeared
on them.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends the public health law by adding a new
section, § 4138-e. It is premised on an acknowledgment that the truth of

one's origins should be a birthright. Accordingly, the new § 4138-e
affirms, supports and encourages the life-long health and well-being
needs of adoptees, and those who will be adopted in the future, by
restoring the right of all adult adopted persons born or adopted in New
York to unrestricted access to their original birth certificates. The
denial of access to accurate and complete self-identifying and medical
information of any adopted person is a violation of that person's human
rights and is contrary to the tenets of governance.

Section 1 provides that an adopted person eighteen years of age, or if
the adopted person is deceased, the adopted person's direct line
descendants, or the lawful representatives of such adopted person, or
lawful representatives of such deceased adopted person's direct line
descendants can obtain a certified copy of the adopted person's original
long form birth certificate, from the commissioner or a local registrar,
in the same manner as such certificates are available to persons born in
the state of New York who were not adopted. The amendment also requires
the commissioner to provide the adopted person or other authorized
person with the background information about the adopted child and the
adopted child's birth parents sent to the commissioner pursuant to
subdivision 1 of § 114 of the domestic relations law.

In addition, in the event that the commissioner does not have the
original birth certificate of an adopted person, section 1 requires
courts and other agencies that have records containing the information
that would have appeared on the adopted person's original long form
birth certificate to provide such information, including all identifying
information about the adopted person's birth parents, to the adult
adopted person or other authorized person upon a simple written request
therefor that includes proof of identity.

Section 2 amends subdivision 4 of § 4138 of the public health law to
authorize the commissioner to make microfilm or other suitable copies of
an original certificate of birth in accordance with newly added section
4138-e.

Section 2 amends subdivision 4 of § 4138 of the public health law to
authorize the commissioner to provide a certified copy of the original
long form certificate of birth to an adult adopted person in accordance
with § 4138-e of the public health law.

Section 3 amends subdivision 5 of § 4138 of the public health law to
state that a certified copy of the original long form certificate of
birth of such a person shall be issued to an adult adopted person in
accordance with § 4138-e of the public health law.

Section 4 amends paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of § 4138 of the public
health law to authorize a local registrar to provide a certified copy of
the original long form certificate of birth to an adult adopted person
in accordance with § 4138-e of the public health law.

Section 5 amends paragraph (b) of subdivision 3 of § 4138 of the public
health law to authorize a local registrar to provide a certified copy of
the original long form certificate of birth to an adult adopted person
in accordance with § 4138-e of the public health law.

Section 6 adds a new subdivision 8 to § 4138 of the public health law to
authorize adopted persons eighteen years of age or older, or the birth
parent (s), to submit a change of name and/or address to be attached to
the original birth certificate of the adopted person.

Section 7 amends § 4138-d of the public health law to remove the
provision that allows an adoption agency to restrict access to non-iden-
tifying information that is not in the best interest of the adoptee, the
biological sibling or the birth parent(s).

Section 8 amends § 4104 of the public health law to include additional
provisions under vital statistics that would be applicable to the city
of New York.

Section 9 amends subdivision 1 of § 114 of the domestic relations law to
require that any order of adoption direct that the information to be
provided to the adoptive parents about the child and the child's birth
parents shall include the child's and birthparents' information at the
time of surrender and, in addition, that the information provided to the
adoptive parents also be provided to the commissioner of health.

Section 10 is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The bill will restore adult adoptees' right to access information that
non-adopted persons, including those who "age-out" of foster care, have
a legal right to obtain. In New York, an adopted person cannot access
his or her original birth certificate unless the adopted person goes
through a judicial proceeding and, even then, the outcome does not guar-
antee that access will be granted. This bill will allow adult adoptees,
or if the adopted person is deceased, the adopted person's direct line
descendants, or the lawful representatives of such adopted person
(living) or lawful representatives of such deceased adopted person's
direct line descendants, to obtain a certified copy of the adopted
person's original long form birth certificate. Adoptees will continue,
under existing law, to be able to secure "non-identifying" information
which may include, but not be limited to, their religious and ethnic
heritage and medical history information that may be necessary for
preventive health care and the treatment of illnesses linked to family
history and genetics. To whatever extent "non-identifying" information
may be unavailable, the restoration of the civil right to one's own
original birth certificate will restore equal opportunity for seeking
such information.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2018: A9959-B / S7631-B
2017-2018:A.5036-B/S.4845-B -vetoed by governor
2015-2016: A.2901/S3314, followed by A.2901-A/S.5964 -Passed Assembly
2013-2014: A909/S2490
2012: A.8910/S.7286
2011: A.2003/S.1438
2009/2010: A.8410A/S.5269A
2007/2008: A.2277/S.235
2006: A.9823/S.446
2005: A.928/S.446
2003-2004: A.6238A/S.2631A
2001-2002: A.7943/S.4286
1999-2000: A.7541A/S.1224A
1997-1998: A.4316/S.3677
1995-1996: A.2328/S.3709A
1993-1994: A.10403/S.856

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on January 15, 2020, provided, however, that,
effective immediately, the commissioner of health is directed to promul-
gate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the
provisions of this act."

CORRECTING A BIRTH CERTIFCATE MISTAKE VERSUS CHANGING YOUR NAME

From NY Courts website:

"You may not need a court order if you only want to correct a "mistake" on your birth certificate.

An example of a "mistake" is correcting Dauid to David. This requires written proof of the mistake which may include:

• a letter from the hospital
• immunization records
• doctor's records
• school admission letter
• religious document
• life insurance policy

If you want to change your name, you need a court order. An example of a name change is changing June to Edna."

See http://nycourts.gov/courthelp/NameChange/birthCertificate.shtml