Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
👤 Fictitious male name 👤 Unknown male defendant
Richard Roe

Richard Roe

8.4
A name used in court to refer to an unknown man, often the defendant
  • noun
  • /ˈrɪtʃərd roʊ/
  • Jargon
translation icon : Richard Roe
  • The court document listed Richard Roe as the defendant since the real identity was still unknown.

Examples

  • In many legal cases, Richard Roe is used alongside John Doe for unidentified individuals.

  • In the lawsuit, Richard Roe was named as the defendant.

  • During the hearing, Richard Roe was named pending the actual party's identification.

  • The case against Richard Roe was dismissed.

  • In many legal cases, Richard Roe serves as a placeholder name while awaiting the actual defendant's identification.

  • The court documents referred to Richard Roe as the unidentified party in the lengthy legal suit.

  • During the trial, Richard Roe was mentioned repeatedly as the fictitious defendant representing unknown parties.

Synonyms

John Doe
vsRichard Roe
  • Formal
12 4.5

A name used for an unknown man in legal or official papers

is a more specific legal placeholder for an unknown male party often the defendant

Surface Forms

Richard Roe singular
Richard Roes plural

Morphology

Richard + Roe

The phrase is a conventional/legal placeholder name whose meaning ('a fictitious or anonymous male, especially a defendant') is a pragmatic convention, not a semantic combination of the parts. Knowing the constituent proper names 'Richard' and 'Roe' gives no clue to anonymity or legal usage, so a B1 learner would not be able to derive the MWE's meaning from its words.

Etymology

Richard Roe began as a simple name written in old court papers when the real man was not known or needed to stay secret. That's why the name now means 'an unnamed or fictitious man' in legal cases.