Colorado Restraining Order Case Goes to Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court has granted certiorari in the case of Jessica Gonzales. Gonzales had obtained a restraining order against her estranged husband. It wasn't enough. He killed their three daughters. Gonzales sued, alleging the Castle Rock police hadn't done enough to keep him at bay.
Jessica Gonzales contends police in the community of Castle Rock ignored her calls for help after Simon Gonzales took the girls, ages 10, 9 and 7, from her yard in June 1999. Several hours later, Gonzales fired shots through a police-station window. He was killed in the resulting gunfight, and officers found the girls' bodies in his pickup truck. Jessica Gonzales said her husband had taken the girls in violation of a restraining order she obtained as part of their divorce case. Two officers -- half the town's on-duty police force at the time -- were sent to the Gonzales home to investigate and learned the restraining order gave the father limited child-visitation rights. "There was absolutely no indication at all that those girls were in harm's way," said Tony Lane, who had been police chief for 13 years in the fast-growing town 25 miles south of Denver. "His previous history did not show he was ever violent toward those girls and he was in compliance with the restraining order."
The Supreme Court will decide whether local governments are obligated to protect citizens with restraining orders. If they rule in Ms. Gonzales' favor, thousands more lawsuits like it may result.
Comments
Submitted by Jean (not verified) on Sat, 2007-10-13 21:24.
Is there anyone who can tell me if hiring 2 private investigators to follow a mother and children would be a violation of a restraining order that was placed on the x husband for domestic violence.
The mother and the children are in fear of the x husband and the matter has gone to court. the x husband was found not guilty(reasonable doubt) (no witness to the domestic violence charge) so there was reasonable doubt by the jury. He is guilty of the charges. There were brusies on the child but error of not taking child to hospitol and only having police pictures of bruises was not enough for the jury. And he can afford a great attorney. The child even testified. What a trama for her. The children and mother are in fear. in the event her dad does this again no one will believe her then either. The children and the mother have no confidence in the justice system to protect her or to help them. They are very limited on funds. As a close relative of the mother and children I have vowed to help them find a way to stay safe. Can any one give me suggestions on how to help this mother and her children.
As a note: The father now threatens to take the children away from their mother saying she falsely accused him. It is my understanding the private investigators even placed a bug on her vehicle while they were at a hearing for their devorse. This man is not only a physical terrorsit to his family but an emotional terrorist as well.
Submitted by Pamela Simmons (not verified) on Mon, 2005-03-21 12:15.
If the mother felt that her children were at risk, she should be considered the "expert" in the situation, since she most certainly knows her ex-husband better than the two officers do. Even if the father had "limited visitation rights" are there not stipulations when and where he can "visit" the children? And is "visitation" defined as "taking the three young children from their mother's yard?, apparently without her knowledge. That sounds more like kidnapping. This is a tragedy that could have and most definately must be avoided in the future! This is a tragedy that repeats itself over and over again in different forms. If a woman belives that her husband/ boyfriend is dangerous than this must be believed until proven otherwise, especially when it involves the lives of our precious, innocent children.
