Town of Castle Rock v. Gonzales
| Gonzales v. Town of Castle Rock | |
|---|---|
| Argued March 21, 2005 Decided June 27, 2005 | |
| Full case name | Town of Castle Rock, Colorado, Petitioner v. Jessica Gonzales, individually and as next of kin of her deceased minor children, Rebecca Gonzales, Katheryn Gonzales, and Leslie Gonzales |
| Docket no. | 04-278 |
| Citations | 545 U.S. 748 (more) 125 S. Ct. 2796; 162 L. Ed. 2d 658; 18 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 511 |
| Argument | Oral argument |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Gonzales v. City of Castle Rock, 307 F.3d 1258 (10th Cir. 2002), on rehearing en banc, 366 F.3d 1093 (10th Cir. 2004); cert. granted, 543 U.S. 955 (2004). |
| Subsequent | On remand at Gonzales v. City of Castle Rock, 144 F. App'x 746 (10th Cir. 2005) |
| Holding | |
| The town of Castle Rock, Colorado and its police department could not be sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for failure to enforce a restraining order against respondent's husband, as enforcement of the restraining order does not constitute a property right for 14th Amendment purposes. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Scalia, joined by Rehnquist, O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas, Breyer |
| Concurrence | Souter, joined by Breyer |
| Dissent | Stevens, joined by Ginsburg |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. XIV, Due Process Clause | |
Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled, 7–2, that a town and its police department could not be sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for refusing to enforce a restraining order, even though the refusal led to the murders of a woman's three children by her estranged husband. This decision affirmed the controversial principle that state and local government officials have no affirmative duty to protect the public from harm it did not create; a similar ruling was made in DeShaney v. Winnebago County which involves Child Protective Services (called the Department of Social Services in the case) failing to protect a child from a violent parent. The decision has since become infamous and condemned by several human rights groups and is frequently cited among the worst Supreme Court decisions in modern history.