Marc S. Dreier, a New York attorney has been arrested. He, among other things, (allegedly) passed himself off as, variously, representing persons he did not, being a person he was not and having authority he did not have.

The US authorities have taken a dim view of this and he is currently held without bail.

His firm on Park Avenue, New York, has filed for bankruptcy and the staff are fleeing the offices without their wages.

One wonders what would happen to him in Ireland.

The Hollywood police have a perennial problem and must have long ago found the solution. Suppose Cary Grant had got drunk and stabbed his neighbour. Should the police arrest Cary Grant? But that was not his name. His name was Archibald Leach.

Who has committed the crime? Archibald or Cary?

In DPP v Thomas [2006] IEHC the High Court pointed out that, (like Cary Grant), the defendant had chosen to be known by a name other than his real name. Therefore, summonses issued against him in his false name were validly issued and were in time.

What of Kirk Douglas? He changed his name legally to Kirk Douglas, from Issur Danielovitch. (Presumably by deed poll). Has the ground become more certain in his case? Perhaps he does not have a double identity any longer?

In fact, for persons, unlike inanimate things or concepts, double identity is not the usual problem in law; it is the theft of identity. For inanimate things, in law, double identity is common; “public place�, for instance, may have a different meaning in one piece of legislation compared to another.

Identity is not a simple thing. John Locke is credited with the first formulation of identity, in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689), by reference to consciousness rather than the substance of soul or body.

For him, consciousness was memory. This has practical limitations. What of a person suffering from memory loss? If memory defines consciousness, which defines identity, how can we speak of “a person� as suffering memory loss? (This memory loss is different to the memory loss encountered by the Flood/Mahon Tribunal).

More seriously, he denies that identity is related to the body. A body may change and we accept the person has not. A body may have a particular appearance and not reflect the identity of the person. (“Trading Places� is based on this idea).

Possibly, identity is not coincidental with the person. A person may have several “identities�. Some commentators deny that “identity theft� is possible. In their view, what happens is the deception of a person or persons other than the person whose “identity� was stolen.

Counterfeiting is a complex crime. We currently have the case of the “Power of Death� exhibition in Hamburg. It features terracotta warrior figures from China. The exhibiting Musuem of Ethnology is now arranging to refund the 10,000 visitors their money; the figures are not original.
The museum claims it received express assurances of originality and certificates of authenticity, but some commentators are sceptical of the museum’s innocence. Mr. Grimm, for the organisers, denies he ever asserted the originality of the figures, but even with German art detectives launching an investigation, stressed the accuracy of the facsimiles. The Museum has responded by putting up a sign to the effect;

Some or all of the objects in the exhibition that are said to be authentic may in fact be copies.

So, fake statues may be authentic or may be copies. They may be claimed to be original or not so claimed. Despite the current absence of a defendant, art critics are positive; this is an art crime.

Elsewhere we have the case of Marcus Glindon of Enfield, England, who produced an estimated 14 million £1 counterfeit coins. The coins were not easily distinguishable from genuine coins. He took his instructions from Tom and John, who apparently paid him up to £2,000 per week for his work. He has been sentenced to five years in jail.

Marcus himself made no representations as to authenticity; yet he is a counterfeiter.

A bank may claim to be a client of a solicitor when it is not. Mr. Michael Lynn, for instance, was representing himself where his banks thought he was representing them, or so they may wind up saying.