Restraining Orders Fail Victims, So Why Does the Abuse Industry Push for Them?, WAVE Columnist Asks

WASHINGTON / March 12, 2012 – Restraining orders don’t help victims and waste taxpayer resources, claims Crystal Smoot in her recent editorial (1). So why aren’t abuse-reduction advocates pushing for criminal justice programs that work?, she asks. Smoot’s article was recently published at the Women Against VAWA Excess (WAVE) website. Smoot highlights an early Colorado case in which a restraining order failed to prevent the killing of three young girls. The case, Gonzales v. Castle Rock, was eventually heard before the U.S. Supreme Court, with Department of Justice officials arguing