In 2014, the Michigan Supreme Court rescinded the Michigan Uniform System of Citation and, instead, encouraged others to use the Michigan Appellate Opinion Manual. AO 2014-22.

Section 3:39 guides how to write about minors (young people) to protect their privacy.

For cases involving minors, we suggest not using their full names in any situation that could
cause the child embarrassment unless doing so is unavoidable. Instead, try referring to minors
by their position in the case or their relationship to the parties (e.g., the older complainant; the
youngest son; the minor victim; the eight-year-old witness). If a minor must be named, do so
using his or her initial or initials, and do not use periods:

Defendant was accused of sexually abusing his stepson Jack.
Defendant was accused of failing to pay child support for the three children he
had with plaintiff.
Defendant was convicted of physically abusing the complainant, AMB, and
AMB’s sister, ACB.
Defendant was charged with abusing A and B.

This is why, for example, the Michigan Supreme Court used only initials in its discipline opinion In re Green, 512 Mich 533 (2023) when referring to a judge’s minor grandchildren.

When avoidable, there’s never a need to risk immediate or long-term child embarrassment by listing a minor’s full name in a public legal filing or other public-facing materials.

In federal matters, federal law demands more and recognizes child victims’ and child witnesses’ rights under 18 USC § 3509(d). The Department of Justice’s Criminal Resource Manual summarizes:

Criminal Resource Manual
CRM 1-499

46. Protection Of Identity Of Child Witnesses And Victims

Under 18 U.S.C. § 3509, the term “child” means a person who is under the age of eighteen who is or is alleged to be a victim of a crime of physical abuse, sexual abuse, or exploitation; or a witness to a crime committed against another person.

Section 3509(d) requires that all government employees connected with “a criminal proceeding,” all court personnel, the defendant and all employees of the defendant, and all members of the jury:

i. keep all documents that disclose the name or any other information concerning a child in a secure place to which no person who does not have reason to know their contents has access; and

ii. disclose documents described (in the statute) or the information in them that concerns a child only to persons who, by reason of their participation in the proceeding, have reason to know such information.

Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 403, a knowing or intentional violation of the privacy protection accorded by Section 3509 is a criminal contempt punishable by a fine and up to one year’s imprisonment.

In most cases, references, initials, or redactions best serve a child’s welfare without compromising a legal writer’s informing and persuading objectives.