Eck, Matter of

• Decision Date: 11 January 1991
• Citation: 584 A.2d 859,245 N.J.Super. 220
• Parties: In the Matter of the Application of John William ECK for Leave to Assume the Name of Tina Lindsay.
• Court: New Jersey Superior Court — Appellate Division

Page 220

245 N.J.Super. 220

584 A.2d 859

In the Matter of the Application of John William ECK for Leave to Assume the Name of Tina Lindsay.

Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division.

Argued Dec. 4, 1990.

Decided Jan. 11, 1991.

Ruth E. Harlow, admitted pro hac vice, for appellant (Margaret A. Kean, Mahwah, Volunteer Counsel on behalf of American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, attorney).

Before Judges PRESSLER, BAIME and ARNOLD M. STEIN.

The opinion of the court was delivered by

ARNOLD M. STEIN, J.A.D.

Petitioner John William Eck's request for a name change to Tina Lindsay was denied by the Law Division judge because "it is inherently fraudulent for a person who is physically a male to assume an obviously 'female' name for the sole purpose of representing himself to future employers and society as a female." We reverse.

Petitioner, born John William Eck on August 3, 1941, has been divorced since 1986. Petitioner, who has a bachelor of arts degree in history and political science from Fairleigh Dickinson University with additional management and technology courses, was previously employed for fifteen years in management data processing positions. Petitioner has never filed for bankruptcy, no adverse proceedings have ever been brought for debt consolidation and there have never been any criminal convictions. There are no pending criminal or civil cases and there have been no previous name change applications. N.J.S.A. 2A:52-1; R. 4:72-1. The county prosecutor has no objection to this name change and the Attorney General filed no response to the copy of the complaint served upon his office.

Beginning about 1983, petitioner began to have the appearance of a woman and dressed as a woman except at work. Since November 1988 petitioner has lived full-time with a female appearance. Petitioner is medically classified as a transsexual, a condition also described as gender dysphoria.

Petitioner, who is not currently undergoing any psychiatric or psychological treatment, was previously under the care of Dr. Lee Shaver as the primary therapist and had also obtained a second opinion from Dr. Charles Ihlenfeld, a board-certified psychiatrist who has worked with gender-dysphoric patients for over twenty years.

Dr. Ihlenfeld concluded that surgical sex reassignment was "medically and psychiatrically indicated and will contribute significantly to [petitioner's] sense of personal well-being and fulfillment." In another letter, Dr. Ihlenfeld stated that petitioner's true identity is feminine, that petitioner has been successfully living as a woman for over two years, that he considered petitioner to be a "true transsexual and an appropriate candidate for sex reassignment surgery," and that he supported petitioner's request for a legal name change to "reflect her true identity."

Petitioner's endocrinologist, Dr. Walter Futterweit, prescribes female hormones for petitioner and checks the blood for any adverse side effects. Petitioner receives estrogen and provera without complications and Dr....