California v. Kenney
Annotate this CaseChristopher Kenney was inside his mother’s home in violation of a temporary DVRO that had not yet been served. Sheriff’s deputies yelled through a locked bedroom door, “There’s a restraining order on file, Christopher” and “You’re not allowed to be here.” After Christopher’s reply, “Break my fucking door down, dude. This is my fucking house”: deputies forced the door open and after a scuffle arrested him. Kenney was not charged with violating the temporary DVRO, but instead with resisting an executive officer. The fundamental issue on appeal was whether deputies acted lawfully, which in turn depended on whether they gave Kenney sufficient notice of the restraining order’s “contents.” To keep the peace while at the same time affording due process, Penal Code section 835 (c) provided that a law enforcement officer could enforce a DVRO after verifying it exists and orally informing the restrained person of its “contents.” The Court of Appeal held the deputies gave such notice and affirmed Kenney’s conviction.
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