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No Pseudonymity for U Michigan Student Challenging Discipline for Using "Assertedly 'Fake' … Medical Note" "to Obtain an Accommodation"

Eugene Volokh | 8.18.2026 5:20 PM

From yesterday's decision by Judge Laurie J. Michelson (E.D. Mich.) in Doe v. Regents of Univ. of Mich.:

Plaintiff, a student at the University of Michigan, was disciplined for providing an "assertedly 'fake' telehealth medical note" to obtain an accommodation for her coursework. The University treated this as academic dishonesty, resulting in Plaintiff's suspension for the Winter 2026 semester and the inclusion of a disciplinary notation on her transcript. Plaintiff maintains that the note is genuine and filed this lawsuit against numerous University of Michigan officials and Academic Affairs employees alleging due process violations.

At the same time, Plaintiff filed a motion to proceed under the "Jane Doe" pseudonym. According to Plaintiff, "[t]his case challenges discipline imposed by a public university that is based on,........

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