Lenahan (Gonzales) et al v. United States, Case 12.626, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Report No. 80/11 (2011)

Jessica Lenahan (Gonzales) petitioned the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights indicating that her due process rights were violated when her repeated and urgent calls to police reporting her three daughters missing, were ignored; despite her having a restraining order against their father/her estranged husband. Previously, in Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005), the United States Supreme Court held that Jessica’s due process rights had not been violated after police failed to enforce the restraining order against her estranged husband, who subsequently murdered their three children. The Commission ruled that the state had not properly protected Jessica and her children, recommended a thorough investigation into the children's deaths and the systemic failures leading up to this incident, and the implementation of legislative reform and public policy 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

• inter-american commission on human rights
• enforcement of protection order

Year

• 2011

External URL

• Lenahan (Gonzales) et al v. United States, Case 12.626, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Report No. 80/11 (2011)

Court

• Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

Type

• International Case Law

Jurisdiction

• Inter-American Commission on Human Rights