A Madera domestic violence killing changed California’s laws. What are the revisions?
A piece of legislation sparked by a Madera County domestic violence case was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom to provide greater protection for victims who escape their abusers.
Senate Bill 24, also known as Calley’s Law, was introduced in December by Sen. Ana Caballero, D-Salinas, whose district covers portions of Madera County. Caballero announced the signing of the law on Wednesday.
The legislation will revise domestic violence restraining order forms to prevent third-party entities, such as schools, medical and dental offices, from releasing information to an abusive parent. Judges will be able to make the selection on the forms. The bill also requires entities caring for children and medical offices to develop protocols to comply with the changes.
Calley Jean Garay, 32, and her three young children had managed to escape her alleged abuser in May 2020. But a few months later in July 2020, Julio Garay — her estranged husband -— found out about a doctor’s appointment, and he showed up to gun her down in broad daylight, police say.
Calley Garay’s family told The Bee in January that someone at Camarena Health Center allegedly provided details of her doctor’s appointment to her estranged husband.
“We know that nothing will bring Calley back,” Caballero said in Wednesday’s announcement. “It is my hope, however, that through her, we can prevent this sort of tragedy from ever happening again. With the help of family and friends, Calley had the courage to leave her abuser and chose a better path for herself and her three children.”
Caballero described the passage of the law as “bittersweet” as it came nearly a year after her killing on July 14.
“I will continue to keep Calley’s loved ones in my thoughts and I thank Governor Newsom for signing this important piece of legislation,” she said.
Calley Garay’s family grateful for law
Calley Garay’s cousin Sarah Rodriguez said the family was “extremely grateful” for the senators who worked on getting the law passed, and getting it passed quickly.
Rodriguez said the family accepts any changes that will help victims of domestic violence escape their abusers and remain safe afterward.
“Any bit of movement in that direction is much appreciated,” she told The Bee. “I think a lot of the abusers use the kids as a tool — just anther tool to stay in touch and stay in contact with their victims, and so I mean, I think this is definitely a step in the right direction.”
Calley Garay and her three children were receiving services from the Community Action Partnership of Madera County at the time of her killing.
The case sparked a $55 million claim for damages against Madera County, and raised accusations of the Madera County Department of Social Services mishandling the placement of Calley Garay’s young sons after her death.
Calley Garay’s death also spurred allegations of conflict of interest among the agencies involved. Russell Ryan, the attorney for the Community Action Partnership, also works for the Camarena Health Center, though he denied a conflict of interest.
Tina Rodriguez, who was the program manager for the department of victim services at the Community Action Partnership, was also Calley Garay’s advocate. Rodriguez was temporarily suspended from her job early this year after raising questions about the delays in security upgrades for domestic violence victims in Madera.
Rodriguez told officials during a public meeting that policies remained unchanged in the wake of Calley Garay’s death and recommended improvements had been gathering dust on Ryan’s desk since mid-September.
Changes in Madera County
Mattie Mendez, executive director for Community Action Partnership, on Wednesday told The Bee the health and safety issues at the shelter have been resolved. The last improvement item, she said, was addressed about two months ago.
“We implemented the changes, and we addressed everything,” she said Wednesday. “There was no delay. When we have issues, we address them. We were addressing them one-by-one.”
Mendez confirmed Rodrgiuez is no longer an employee at her organization. She said there’s no update regarding the multi-million dollar claim on this case.
“The improvements have been made and we are just providing services, and we want our victims in Madera County to feel that they have a safe environment,” she said.
Julio Garay pleaded not guilty and is awaiting a trial on felony homicide charges, according to court records.
This story was originally published July 28, 2021 at 3:22 PM.
.jpg)