In re Forchion

This appeal presents the question of whether an individual may statutorily change his name to the name of his Web site, including the “.com.” (See Code Civ. Proc., §§ 1275-1279.6.) The answer is no.

Petitioner, Robert Edward Forchion, Jr. (Forchion), is a resident of New Jersey. Since 2009, he has managed a Rastafarian temple in Los Angeles and has operated a medical marijuana dispensary that he claims is lawful under the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (Health & Saf. Code, § 11362.5). He has devoted his adult life to promoting the legalization of marijuana and, in 2000, was convicted in New Jersey of marijuana offenses. Forchion is currently facing trial in New Jersey on marijuana charges arising out of an arrest on April 1, 2010. He is free on bail.

Forchion has a national reputation as a marijuana advocate and is popularly known as NJweedman. He operates a Web site, “NJweedman.com,” which discusses his efforts to legalize the drug. In 2001, Forchion unsuccessfully petitioned the New Jersey state courts to change his name to “NJWeedman.com.”

*1287 In April 2010, Forchion petitioned the court below to change his name to “NJweedman.com.” The trial court denied the…