The U.S. Supreme Court will hear Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, an Indian Child Welfare Act case, on April 16.

The Cherokee Nation successfully intervened on behalf of a tribal citizen whose daughter was being adopted. The South Carolina Supreme Court affirmed the custodial rights of the father in a decision on July 26, 2012.

The non-Indian couple that wants to adopt the girl convinced the Supreme Court to review the case. At the hearing on April 16, the justices will be considering two main questions:

(1) Whether a non-custodial parent can invoke ICWA to block an adoption voluntarily and lawfully initiated by a non-Indian parent under state law.

(2) Whether ICWA defines "parent" in 25 U.S.C. § 1903(9) to include an unwed biological father who has not complied with state law rules to attain legal status as a parent.

The Supreme Court hasn't considered an ICWA case in more than two decades.

South Carolina Supreme Court Decision:
Adoptive Couple v. Cherokee Nation (July 26, 2012)

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