Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005)

Castle Rock v. Gonzales is a U.S. Supreme Court case holding that a law enforcement officer could not be sued under 42 U.S. Code § 1983 for failing to enforce a restraining order. In the case, Jessica Gonzales was granted a restraining order against her husband during their divorce proceedings. In violation of the restraining order, the estranged husband took their three children, and despite repeated efforts by Jessica to have the order enforced, the police took no action. During this time, the estranged husband killed the three children. The Court reasoned that because Colorado law did not make enforcement of a restraining order mandatory, there was no individual right to its enforcement. This case was then admitted before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights as Gonzales v. United States (2011). The Commission ruled that the state had not properly protected Jessica and recommended legislative reform to better protect women and children against domestic violence.

Topics

• Domestic and intimate partner violence
• International law

Geographical location

• North America
• United States
• Colorado

Keywords

• restraining order
• child custody
• state responsibility
• duty to protect

Year

• 2005

External URL

• Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005)

Court

• Supreme Court of the United States

Type

• Domestic Case Law

Jurisdiction

• United States