The following are some of our most signficant cases under the Rights Litigation Project.
City of Castle Rock, Colorado v. Jessica Gonzales
United States Supreme Court - 2005
This case was the first domestic violence case to ever reach the Supreme Court. It concerned the constitutionality of police failure to enforce a protection order, resulting in the murders of three girls. - more
Hammon v. Indiana; Davis v. Washington
United States Supreme Court - 2006
This case addresses the critically important question of what types of evidence may be used in criminal prosecutions of batterers. - more
Giles v. California
United States Supreme Court - 2008
The case addresses the extremely important issue of "forfeiture by wrongdoing" in domestic homicide prosecutions. The outcome of this case will be critically important for the future prosecution of domestic violence and domestic homicides, because it will determine to what extent the State may introduce evidence of victims' past statements describing the defendant's abuse in prosecutions for homicide (and potentially, domestic violence). -more
In re: Robertson
D.C. Court of Appeals - 2008
DV LEAP submitted an amicus brief to urge the Court of Appeals not to eliminate the private enforcement of civil protection orders by the private victim through criminal contempt. DV LEAP, on behalf of the amici, received permission to submit an amicus brief arguing that, regardless of who the OAG technically represents, the Court should ensure that private victims continue to be able to bring private enforcement actions, in order to preserve their rights to enforce their private CPOs and to ensure they maintain the autonomy and empowerment intended by the CPO statute. -more
Abbott v. Abbott
United States Supreme Court - 2009
This case concerns the problem of international parental abduction and the scope of the Hague Convention on Civil International Abduction. -more