Jessica Lenahan (formerly Gonzales)
We've written before about Castle Rock v. Gonzales, a 2005 case in which the Supreme Court ruled that local police departments are not responsible for enforcing restraining orders. Well, the plaintiff in that case, Jessica Lenahan (formerly Gonzales) is taking her case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights this week.
Here is a post from her on what the hearing is all about:
My name is Jessica Lenahan and I am a survivor of domestic violence. On Wednesday I will make my second appearance before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington, DC. The IACHR is responsible for promoting and protecting human rights throughout the Americas. I turned to the IACHR three years ago because the justice system in the United States abandoned me.
In June 1999, my estranged husband, Simon Gonzales, abducted my three young daughters in violation of a domestic violence restraining order I had obtained against him three weeks before. I repeatedly contacted and pleaded with the Castle Rock Police for assistance, but they refused to act. Late that night, Simon arrived at the police station and opened fire. He was killed and the bodies of my three girls were found murdered in the cab of his truck.
I sued the town of Castle Rock, Colorado for failing to enforce the restraining order I had against my husband at the time. The case went all the way up to the Supreme Court, but they ruled that the enforcement of a restraining order wasn't mandatory under Colorado law. I felt utterly abandoned: the police had failed in their duty to protect me and my girls, and the government told me there was nothing wrong with that. I was sure that I would never have my day in court or a proper investigation of what happened. I nearly gave up at that point - I had gone all the way to the Supreme Court, and I thought that was the end of the line.
But in December 2005, with the help of the ACLU and the Human Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School, I filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. In March 2007, I testified before the IACHR - the first time I was allowed to tell my story in a legal forum.
Before this case, I never knew this regional system existed and never thought of my private issues as human rights violations. I am the first survivor of domestic violence to bring an individual complaint against the United States for international human rights violations. I want other people like me out there to know that this system exists to protect all of us, and that our government cannot just turn its back on us and get away with it. Although the U.S. is always pointing its finger at other countries for their human rights violations, there are plenty of violations occurring right here at home. International human rights bodies like the IACHR give U.S. citizens the opportunity to have a voice, particularly those who have lost everything.
It is fitting that my hearing is being held in October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, an important marker of what continues to be one of the most dangerous issues facing women today.
To watch a webcast of the hearing on Wednesday, click here.
For more info, here's a video the NYACLU made about the case.
Thanks to the awesome April Hayes and Katia Maguire, who are making a film about Jessica Lenahan and her case, for hooking us up with the guest post.
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God, that's such an awful story. Her situation pisses me the fuck off. I realize that restraining orders are basically useless - so I've heard - but the most helpful point is that the stalker can be jailed for violating it. I hope IACHR supports Lenahan.
The reason I always believed restraining orders to be useless is that the aggressor can still attack you. It's not like a restraining order creates an invisible, all-powerful barrier or bells go off if the aggressor violates the conditions. But what is the point of a restraining order if the police won't enforce it when it has been violated?
I really hope Ms. Lenahan will find the justice that the Supreme Court denied to her and her daughters .
What a wonderful human being. She is standing up for us all. I work at a sexual violence center and I write restraining orders all the time, and I can attest to the fact that police officers AND the court system does a TERRIBLE job actually enforcing them. They make them hard enough to get, so you would think they would honor them, but often violators get off without criminal charges.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-domestic-violence-frioct10,0,5602022.story
Courts are failing battered women
17% of domestic violence cases in Cook County (Chicago area) end in conviction. And the rate isn't getting better despite a courthouse that opened 3 years ago with a goal of helping battered women.
Over 80% of felony DV cases end in conviction, but only 15.8% of misdemeanors. So basically you have to get half-killed or worse before you get justice.
Does anyone know if the Supreme Court really dropped the ball here in their reading of Colorado law, or if it was the Colorado state law that let down Ms. Lenahan?
Destra-
This is a guess out of left-field, but an educated one.
I vaguely recall the case and I thought there was some precedent that may have affected its outcome.
In any event, the Colorado Supreme Court is the ultimate authority on the meaning of Colorado law. So, the Supreme Court does not have the authority to interpret it. It has to take Colorado's interpretation as authoritative. So, I do not believe the Supreme Court could "drop the ball" in its reading.
The only thing the Supreme Court could then do is determine whether that interpretation somehow violates the United State Constitution (Equal Protection, etc.). Not having read the decision, I do not know what it decided.
-Jut
Just a supplement: if I remember correctly, this was a case where the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a state had an affirmative obligation to protect people (i.e. prevent crime). The Supreme Court said "no."
-Jut
It's a little convoluted, but basically yes...
The suit was under Federal law (42 USC 1983 for deprivation of civil rights by state agents), and SCOTUS reversed the appeals court's finding of liability saying that Colorado state law didn't require mandatory enforcement, and that lacking that, there wasn't sufficient "property" interest in a restraining order to qualify for a 14th amendment due process claim.
There have been decisions like this before, where the police aren't required to help someone. But that's usually a defense against getting sued because they were physically unable, or because they failed despite a reasonable try. Which sounds fine to me, but the problem is is that it also protects openly negligent police, and it sounds like that's what's happening here.
This sort of thing really angers me, because the biggest criticism of domestic abuse survivors is that it's their fault for not getting out. But here we have a woman who did get out, and was offered no support.
Wow. I almost threw up reading that. I hope she gets some justice for this.
Why does the state bother going to the expense of holding court cases to decide whether or not to issue a restraining order if it's unenforceable? I thought the whole point was that people would be prosecuted for breaking them?
Why does it not surprise me that this happens in "Family First" Colorado?
Well this just confirms my presumptions that restraining orders are useless. What's the point of having them if police won't enforce them? Like a piece of paper is gonna stop a dangerous person from acting on his violent tendencies.
Well Jessica's post is very hopeful. I commend her for having so much strength after losing her daughters and having to deal with such a ridiculous criminal justice system here in America.
I'm blogging on this case. This is unbelievable.
What is the desired outcome of this? To require police to arrest violators of a restraining order? I'm just trying to figure out what this legal forum is being asked to do and what it CAN do. I've never heard of it before, and it sounds like an interesting path to take.
Wow! I live practically around the corner from Castle Rock. It isn't very comforting to know that the state and county where I live and work does so little to prevent this kind of violence. I never heard of this case previously (didn't live here then). So sad my heart goes out to her.