Utah couple 'thrilled' with 10th Circuit decision in ICWA dispute

Wednesday, April 6, 2011  

A Utah couple whose adoption of a newborn was contested by the Cherokee Nation is "thrilled" with a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in the case, their attorney said.

Joshua and Sunny Ketchum adopted the boy a day after his birth in November 2007. The court ruled that the newborn was not an "Indian child" under the Indian Child Welfare Act because his mother was not enrolled in the tribe at the time.

“They are thrilled,” James B. Hanks, who represents the Ketchums, told The Salt Lake Tribune. “They’ve been on pins and needles for a long time now. It is a wonderful day for them.”

The tribe argued that the newborn was granted automatic temporary citizenship in the tribe even though his mother was not enrolled at the time. The 10th Circuit said the tribe cannot circumvent federal law.

Turtle Talk has posted documents from the case Nielson v. Ketchum.

Get the Story:
Court rules Indian Child Welfare Act doesn’t apply in boy’s adoption (The Salt Lake Tribune 4/6)

10th Circuit Decision:
Nielson v. Ketchum (April 5, 2011)

Court rebuffs Cherokee Nation in Indian Child Welfare Act ruling (4/5)