An important question we’ve been asked repeatedly — how does Adoptive Couple affect state laws codifying and supplementing the Indian Child Welfare Act?

State ICWA laws remain intact. This was not a decision on the constitutionality of ICWA, but rather an interpretation of ICWA’s wording. This Supreme Court defers to state law when possible. While state courts may interpret the language the same way, if it’s the same language (which it is in Michigan, for example), it’s not bound to. For example, the legislative history of a state law passed in 2012 is very different than that of the federal law passed in 1978. There may be different policy goals, or other parts of the statute are different enough to indicate a broader, and higher, standard. In addition, state statutes of general applicability, such as those addressing the rights of biological fathers to their children still apply. In some ways this ends up like the marriage equality decisions–where a person lives may determine their rights.