Veronica has lived in two homes. Two years with her adoptive family, in South Carolina. Two years with her biological father, a member of the Cherokee nation, in Oklahoma. All the while her life was in the hands of various courts in the American legal system. The case got so tangled, combining adoption law with a law designed to protect the children of Native Americans, that the Supreme Court stepped in. The details of the case are long, and heart-wrenching. Do yourself a favor and listen to the background of the story on Radiolab.

While the Court's decision favors the adoptive couple, their ruling was narrow. According to the majority opinion, the South Carolina court that ruled in the biological father's favor incorrectly invoked the Indian Child Welfare Act, which prioritizes Native American parents for Native American children up for adoption. The case now goes back to the South Carolina Supreme Court, which has the immense task of deciding which family the girl should live with. It won't be cut and dry—and the justices will take the overall welfare of the child into consideration. (It may be better off, at this point, to keep the girl with her biological father.)