Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl
United States Supreme Court
570 U.S. 637 (2013)
Relevant factsFree
A baby girl was born to a non-Indian mother and a Cherokee father who, while the mother was pregnant, relinquished his parental rights by text message. The mother placed the baby for adoption with a non-Indian couple (plaintiffs); the father did not contest the adoption at first but later sought custody, invoking the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). The South Carolina family court and the state supreme court sided with the father, holding ICWA barred terminating his rights absent a showing of serious harm to the child.
IssueFree
Whether the Indian Child Welfare Act protects the rights of a parent who has never had custody of the child.