Town of Castle Rock v. Gonzales
Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled, 7–2, that a town and its police department could not be sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for failing to enforce a restraining order, which had led to the murders of a woman's three children by her estranged husband.[1] The decision has since become infamous and condemned by several human rights groups.[2][3][4]
Gonzales v. Town of Castle Rock
Town of Castle Rock, Colorado, Petitioner v. Jessica Gonzales, individually and as next of kin of her deceased minor children, Rebecca Gonzales, Katheryn Gonzales, and Leslie Gonzales
On remand at Gonzales v. City of Castle Rock, 144 F. App'x 746 (10th Cir. 2005)
Scalia, joined by Rehnquist, O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas, Breyer
Souter, joined by Breyer
Stevens, joined by Ginsburg
Background synopsis[edit]
During divorce proceedings, Jessica Lenahan-Gonzales, a resident of Castle Rock, Colorado, obtained a permanent restraining order against her husband Simon, who had been stalking her, on June 4, 1999, requiring him to remain at least 100 yards (91 m) from her and her four children (son Jesse, who is not Simon's biological child, and daughters Rebecca, Katheryn, and Leslie) except during specified visitation time. On June 22, at approximately 5:15 pm, Simon took possession of the three girls in violation of the order. Jessica called the police at approximately 7:30 pm, 8:30 pm, and 10:10 pm on June 22, and 12:15 am on June 23, and visited the police station in person at 12:40 am on June 23. Prior to the second call, Simon had called Jessica and stated that he had the daughters with him at an amusement park in Denver, Colorado. However, since Jessica had allowed Simon, from time to time, to take the children at various hours, the police took no action. At approximately 3:20 am on June 23, Simon appeared at the Castle Rock police station and was killed in a shoot-out with the officers. A search of his vehicle revealed the dead bodies of the three daughters, who were determined to have been shot and killed some time prior to arrival at the police station.
United States District Court for the District of Colorado[edit]
Gonzales filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado against Castle Rock, Colorado, its police department, and the three individual police officers with whom she had spoken under 42 U.S.C. § 1983,[5] claiming a federally protected property interest in enforcement of the restraining order and alleging "an official policy or custom of failing to respond properly to complaints of restraining order violations." A motion to dismiss the case was granted, and Gonzales appealed to the Denver, Colorado Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. A panel of that court rejected Gonzales's substantive due process claim but found a procedural due process claim; an en banc rehearing reached the same conclusion.[6] The court also affirmed the finding that the three individual officers had qualified immunity and as such could not be sued.
Subsequent developments[edit]
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights[edit]
In 2011, the case came before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, a commission composed of representatives from the members of Organization of American States (the United States is a full member by its ratification of the charter document, which is a treaty itself) which found that "the state failed to act with due diligence to protect Jessica Lenahan and (her daughters) Leslie, Katheryn and Rebecca Gonzales from domestic violence, which violated the state’s obligation not to discriminate and to provide for equal protection before the law." The Commission also said that "the failure of the United States to adequately organize its state structure to protect [the Gonzales girls] from domestic violence was discriminatory and constituted a violation of their right to life."[2][3]
Response[edit]
The National Organization for Women has argued the Supreme Court's decision reduced the utility of restraining orders and "effectively gives law enforcement a green light to ignore restraining orders."[4]