If you don’t know what this case is:
Woman gets restraining order against violent ex.
He violates it. She calls cops. They don’t come by.
Repeat several times.
Eventually, he murders her and daughters.
Family sues cops, said had obligation to respond and failed.
SCOTUS? “Nah, no obligation.”
Woman gets restraining order against violent ex.
He violates it. She calls cops. They don’t come by.
Repeat several times.
Eventually, he murders her and daughters.
Family sues cops, said had obligation to respond and failed.
SCOTUS? “Nah, no obligation.”
Reposted from
Kevin Elliott
Castle Rock v Gonzalez
Comments
As a law's only as good as its enforcement.
(Alito: “Fuck them states rights”, apparently.)
Scalia ruled that "shall" was vague enough to give the police total discretion to enforce it or not.
Fucking insanity.
"During the night Gonzales's husband murdered all three children and then opened fire inside a police station, where police returned fire and killed him."
Instead, restraining orders only provide grounds for arresting the subject of the order. The specific action to be taken is up to the discretion of the police." ^last source
The implication is that you have no right to police protection.
Another ex of SCOTUS not wanting to get into any sort of messy line-drawing, so abnegate all responsibility.
They do it ALL the time for the death penalty and, bizarrely, the horribly-drafted Armed Career Criminal Act.
It’s that it does not WANT to. It’s happy to let law enforcement self-regulate.
It’s a choice.
Colorado had a literal statute saying that cops shall enforce restraining orders. That scotus basically overturned here.
SCOTUS doesn’t like making cops liable for…anything. Post Warren, the protective amendments are seen as obstacles to be overcome, not as protections to be safeguarded.
Gonzales took the case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights after SCOTUS ruled against her.
The Inter-American Commission? They reviewed it, said the Supreme Court was insane. Forget exactly, but they sided with the family. They lack jurisdiction to do much, just roast SCOTUS.
he IACHR concluded that the United States had failed to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate, and punish the human rights violations suffered by González and her daughters. Specifically, the Commission found that:
The Castle Rock police department’s inaction was a violation of González’s right to life and protection from violence.
She is convicted of murder.
Media/police: you should have called the cops.
They were famously bad at protecting emperors they didn't like.
The only time they have an obligation is if they CAUSE the harm. Stray shots or an accident in a car chase.
Even then, the obligation is limited to bodily harm, not property harm.
I want to say there’s also a mini series about it, but I can’t remember the name off hand.
https://radiolab.org/podcast/no-special-duty
police exist to enforce social order and protect property and wealth. anything beyond that is at their discretion.
If you were a cop you should be offended that you're allowed to be this useless and stupid.
Sounds like the SCOTUS standard doesn't even rise to the
"Protect and Serve" level
That's pretty sad
Instead she was rewarded by 12+ hours of police interrogation and they wouildn't let her see her children's bodies.
Still doesn’t mean Castle Rock PD isn’t a complete shit for failing to take the L they deserved for failing to do their job, but that’s also Castle Rock and Douglas County.
They protect property.
They protect and serve the owners of property.
They protect and serve the capitalist class.
Truth is, you're fortunate if you have 3 patrol officers per 1,000 residents (ex: Seattle is 1.3 officers per 1,000 residents).
Expect no one to come to save you.
Every day that passes and I think I can't hate the right wing any more than I do, Something like this happens
Looks like it's time to dust it off again.
#ACAB