The U.S. Supreme Court met again this morning but did not release its highly-anticipated decision in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, an Indian Child Welfare Act case.
The justices will be back in session tomorrow so a decision might come then. It's also possible they might wait until later in the week.
The justices heard the case on April 16. This week is the last opportunity
for the court to release decisions from the current term.
The case has drawn significant attention. The outcome will determine
whether Dusten Brown, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, can retain
custody of his daughter.
With the backing of the Cherokee Nation, Brown successfully objected when
the non-Indian mother arranged for an adoption of their child by a non-Indian
couple in South Carolina. The couple asked the Supreme Court to hear the case
and has called for changes in ICWA to make it harder for tribes to intervene.
The last Supreme Court ICWA case was Mississippi
Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield in 1989. The court determined that the
Mississippi Band of Choctaw
Indians had jurisdiction in an adoption dispute.
Oral Argument Transcript:
Adoptive
Couple v. Cherokee Nation (April 16, 2013)
South Carolina Supreme Court Decision:
Adoptive
Couple v. Cherokee Nation (July 26, 2012)
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No word from Supreme Court in Indian Child Welfare
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Radiolab: ICWA at center of
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Law Article: Supreme Court
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Letter: Indian Child Welfare
Act designed to protect families (04/29)
Letter: Adoption lawyers circumvent Indian Child
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Supreme Court
decision in ICWA case expected by end of June (4/17)
Jackie Pata: Baby Veronica and Native American
family values (4/17)
NARF/NCAI/NICWA:
Case shows ugly side of adoption industry (4/16)
Jacqueline Davis: An Indian family torn apart in
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Turtle Talk: More
interruptions for tribal interests in ICWA case (4/16)
SCOTUSBlog: No easy answers in Indian Child Welfare
Act case (4/16)
Supreme Court takes up
dispute over Indian Child Welfare Act (4/16)
Editorial: Supreme Court should take Cherokee girl
from father (4/16)
Editorial: Congress
may need to limit Indian Child Welfare Act (4/16)
Tribes gear up for big battle with Supreme Court's
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Column: Supreme Court
set to hear racially-tinged ICWA case (4/15)
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