It's slim pickings in the California appellate judiciary lately, with a single opinion in the last several days from the Court of Appeal and only a couple from the Ninth Circuit. This one nonetheless struck my eye not because of any complicated doctrinal discussion, but rather from the caption. It lists the plaintiff's name as "ROBERT A. STANARD, AKA Robert Allen Stanard." Which I guess I understand; sometimes he's known as Robert A. Stanard, and sometimes as Robert Allen Stanard.
But I'm not sure why there's an AKA. I mean, sure, I'm confident he's "also known" as Robert Allen Stanard, because that's (presumably) his full name. Sometimes he uses Robert A. Stanard, and sometimes he uses Robert Allen Stanard. Moreover, on occasion, I imagine he just goes by Robert Stanard. Maybe even just "Bob". (Bobby?)
I get AKAs when the guy uses a different name entirely ("Ron Johnson"), or perhaps a moniker ("Slash"). But if I file suit, it just seems strange to say "Shaun P. Martin, AKA Shaun Martin, AKA Shaun Patrick Martin." Unless we're adding AKAs to every single lawsuit, which just seems weird.
Anyway. Robert Stanard. A man, apparently, of many names.
