For the musician and actor, see John Doe (musician)
For the television series, see John Doe (Television series)
For the children's book by L. Frank Baum, see John Dough and the Cherub
In English-speaking common-law jurisdiction, the nameJohn Doe is used for a defendant or victim in a legal example or for a person whose identity is unknown or is intended to be anonymous. Male corpses whose identity is unknown are also known by the name John Doe. A female who is not known is referred to as Jane Doe. A child whose identity is unknown is referred to as Johnny Doe. An anonymous plaintiff is known as Richard Roe.
The Oxford English Dictionary states that John Doe is "the name given to the fictitious lessee of the plaintiff, in the (now obsolete) mixed action of ejectment, the fictitious defendant being called Richard Roe".
An account of the reasons why a fictitious tenant and a fictitious defendant were named is found in Charles Rembar's book The Law of the Land.
By extension from the law usage, John Doe is often used in computer software needing a default or example first and last name for a form.
As in JaneDoe, who first won the right to sue the police and then won her case, got apologies from the force, the city and the police commission — and damages of more than $200,000.
Doe called her sister at work about a week after the rape and slowly told her story, beginning first by describing the other rapes and then telling Karen that it had happened to her too.
At the heart of Doe's case was the argument that not only did the police have a duty to warn women that a serial rapist was on the loose, but that their failure to warn was based on sexist beliefs and so violated Doe's rights under the federal Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Jane had been a good wife and mother and loved each of her children dearly and we can hardly begin to imagine the mental anguish she must have suffered to take such a drastic step.
Jane herself is blameless and therefore without any control over the circumstances in which she finds herself, which makes it all the more distressing.
There are many others in a similar predicament to Jane, for whatever reasons, but few can have experienced worse treatment by the so-called authorities - those who, instead of being helpful and sympathetic to Jane’s plight, have mercilessly swept their own dirt under the carpet and then washed their hands of her.
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