If you’d like to discuss family law, contact with Kaine Fisher, kfisher@roselawgroup.com.
he Supreme Court agreed on Friday to rule on the rights of non-Indian couples to adopt an Indian child over the objection of a parent who is a tribal member. The adoption case (Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, docket 12-399/ ) involves the competing rights to a child that may arise under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978.
In this case, a South Carolina couple had adopted at birth the daughter of a young woman who was not a tribal member, but the child, Veronica Brown, was considered to be an Indian because of her father’s tribal membership. The South Carolina couple had to give up the child after raising her for two years, because a state court ruled that the federal law took priority over state law.
At issue in the case is the definition of “parent” under the federal law, including whether that includes an unwed father who only belatedly claimed parental rights.
“I read the briefs and the facts of this case are heart wrenching,” said Kaine Fisher, director of RLG Family Law Department. “You would figure at some point a biological father waives his right to contest an adoption. This is just yet another example of when the law, when strictly applied, generates an unjust result. You see this often in the struggle between federal preemption and fairness.”
