Imagine one of those wrenching custody cases in which every side seems to have the child’s interests at heart but almost every fact is disputed. Many people — including the child in the middle of the fight — have pain ahead of them, no matter the outcome. Now mix in America’s historical mistreatment of Native Americans and a major disagreement over a decades-old law meant to redress some of those wrongs, and you get the emotionally fraught tangle that the Supreme Court will consider Tuesday. When Christinna Maldonado gave birth to Veronica, she had already selected Matt and Melanie Capobianco to be her daughter’s adoptive parents. The father, Dusten Brown, hadn’t supported Ms. Maldonado during her pregnancy, and he renounced his parental rights to her in a text message. But after he heard that Veronica would grow up with the Capobiancos, not her biological mother, Mr. Brown moved to obtain custody of the child. He wouldn’t have had much of a case except that he is part Native American, and a federal law, the Indian Child Welfare Act, puts restrictions on the adoption of Native American children. After they had cared for Baby Veronica for two years, a South Carolina court made the Capobiancos give her back in 2011.Get the Story:
Indian Child Welfare Act may need some limits (The Washington Post 4/16) South Carolina Supreme Court Decision:
Adoptive Couple v. Cherokee Nation (July 26, 2012) Related Stories:
Tribes gear up for big battle with Supreme Court's ICWA case (4/15)
Column: Supreme Court set to hear racially-tinged ICWA case (4/15)
ICT interview with Cherokee Nation attorney on ICWA dispute (4/11)
Supreme Court sets times for oral argument in ICWA dispute (4/2)
Turtle Talk: Guide to briefs in Supreme Court's ICWA dispute (3/29)
DOJ submits brief in support of Cherokee father in ICWA case (3/18)
Wisbar News: Possible brief in Supreme Court's ICWA dispute (3/8)
Tribes line up support as Supreme Court takes up ICWA dispute (3/6)
Blog: Supreme Court hears Cherokee Nation ICWA case in April (3/5)
Supreme Court to hear Cherokee Nation ICWA case on April 16 (02/14)
NYT Debate: Indian Child Welfare Act and the Supreme Court (01/25)
Supreme Court ruling could impact ICWA cases nationwide (1/14)
Analysis: Media fails in coverage of Cherokee ICWA dispute (1/14)
Supreme Court takes first Indian Child Welfare Act case in years (1/7)
Supreme Court considers petition in Cherokee Nation ICWA case (1/4)
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