# Why do the names of US lawsuits refer to government officials by the name of the incumbent?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-names-of-us-lawsuits-refer-to-government-officials-by-the-name-of-the-incumbent/624191>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 5, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-names-of-us-lawsuits-refer-to-government-officials-by-the-name-of-the-incumbent/624191 "2012-06-05T20:09:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\
**Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-names-of-us-lawsuits-refer-to-government-officials-by-the-name-of-the-incumbent/624191/1 "2012-06-05T20:09:42Z")

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That is, when an official is involved in a lawsuit in their official capacity, why does the case name not refer to the title of the office, given that the incumbent can change during the course of the trial? (As we have seen with _Perry v. Schwarzenegger_ becoming _Perry v. Brown_.) Why is it _Roe v. Wade_ and not _Roe v. District Attorney of Dallas County_? And, on the other hand, why is it _Brown v. Board of Education_ and not _Brown v. (some people)_?

I suppose this is partly just legal tradition and might not really be answerable, but I’d still be interested in hearing about the topic.

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**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\
**Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-names-of-us-lawsuits-refer-to-government-officials-by-the-name-of-the-incumbent/624191/2 "2012-06-05T22:08:36Z")

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I think it probably depends on both the state and the case. For example, I know that in my state , state agencies have no existence separate from that of the state and must be sued in the Court of Claims, while if I am sued in both my “individual and official capacity” , that case can proceed in the regular trial courts. The case can also be dismissed against me as an individual while proceeding against me in my official capacity, and I presume it is also possible to go in reverse- dismissed as an official but continuing against me as an individual.

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**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-names-of-us-lawsuits-refer-to-government-officials-by-the-name-of-the-incumbent/624191/3 "2012-06-06T00:45:39Z")

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Sovereign immunity. As a general matter, you can’t sue governments unless they waive immunity. So, you sue the relevant state official(s) instead. For tort purposes (like, you sue your city because you were run over by a city bus), the state law governing sovereign immunity waiver will require that you sue the state or subdivision in a particular capacity.

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**Author:** ![Robb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Robb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robb)\
**Post date:** [June 6, 2012, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-names-of-us-lawsuits-refer-to-government-officials-by-the-name-of-the-incumbent/624191/4 "2012-06-06T01:03:39Z")

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Case names get shortened. If you saw documents filed with a court, you would see longer names.