American Civil Liberties Union : Petition Alleging Violations of the Human Rights of Jessica Gonzales

Women's Rights:
The ACLU's Women's Rights Project was co-founded in 1972 by Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Through litigation, community outreach, advocacy and public education, WRP empowers poor women, women of color and immigrant women who have been victimized by gender bias and face pervasive barriers to equality. Learn more about the WRP.

Petition Alleging Violations of the Human Rights of Jessica Gonzales

On December 27th, 2005, the American Civil Liberties Union Women's Rights Project filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on behalf of Jessica Gonzales, the mother of three girls killed by her estranged husband in Colorado. In June 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Gonzales when it found that the Constitution does not recognize an entitlement by domestic violence victims to enforcement of their protective orders. The petition with the IACHR, the first of its kind, asserts that domestic violence victims have the right to be protected by the state from the violent acts of their abusers.

"Jessica Gonzales' quest for justice met a dead end at the U.S. Supreme Court," said Caroline Bettinger-López, an attorney with the ACLU Women's Rights Project. "She suffered devastating harm as a result of police inaction and if the U.S. Supreme Court won't hear her case on these merits, we will bring it to the international community. The police department's failure to protect the lives of Jessica's three young daughters should be internationally condemned."

This case is the first individual complaint against the United States brought before any international human rights body for the violation of the rights of victims of domestic violence.

Gonzales is represented by Caroline Bettinger-López, Emily Martin and Lenora Lapidus of the ACLU Women's Rights Project and Ann Beeson and Steven Watt of the ACLU Human Rights Working Group.

LEGAL DOCUMENTS
ACLU Petition in Gonzales v. USA

Exhibit A: Temporary Restraining Order (May 21, 1999)
Exhibit B: Permanent Restraining Order (July 4, 1994)
Exhibit C: District Court Order, Gonzales v. City of Castle Rock, Et. Al. (January 23, 2001)
Exhibit D: 10th Circuit Panel Decision, Gonzales v. City of Castle Rock Et. Al. (October 15, 2002)
Exhibit E: 10th Circuit En Banc Decision, Gonzales v. City of Castle Rock Et. Al. (April 29, 2004)
Exhibit F: U.S. Supreme Court Decision, Town of Castle Rock v. Gonzales (June 27, 2005)

ACLU Reply in Gonzales v. USA

Complete Exhibit List

More About Jessica Gonzales' Supreme Court Case

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