In re Z.A.: Stackbridge or Stockbridge

Here.

California Court of Appeals, 4th district, 2nd division, remands for DPPS to notify the proper tribe:

Here, DPSS was informed at the earliest point in the proceedings that the biological grandmother was an enrolled member of a tribe and that mother, herself, was an enrolled member of an Indian tribe. DPSS was therefore aware that an Indian child might be the subject of the involuntary custody proceeding. The problem arose when mother completed the ICWA 020 form, in which she listed the possible tribe to which she belonged as the “Stackbridge” tribe. Without conducting any inquiry on her own, the social worker accepted information from an unnamed noticing clerk indicating that the “Stackbridge” tribe did not exist, and did not send any notice to that tribe.

Without difficulty, we found the tribe. The Department of Interior’s list of “Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible to Receive Services From the Bureau of Indian Affairs” (otherwise known as the list of Federally Recognized Tribes) includes the “Stockbridge Munsee Community, Wisconsin.” (77 Fed.Reg. 47868, 47871 [No. 155, 2012].) The Stockbridge–Munsee Community of Wisconsin reveals that the tribe descended from a group of Mohican Indians who joined the Oneida Indians in New York in 1785, and, together, both tribes were relocated to Wisconsin. (Stockbridge–Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, http:// witribes.wi.gov/docview.asp?docid=19080 & locid=57 [as of Aug. 31, 2013], p. 2.)

AAIA and NICWA Legal Guide to Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl

Here. (pdf)
Includes summary of the case and legal analysis, including the impact of state statutes and tribal/state agreements.

Dustin Brown to Stop All Legal Proceedings

Tulsa World coverage here.

Ending a custody battle that stretched across two states and dragged on for nearly four years, Dusten Brown will drop all litigation in the “Baby Veronica” case, he announced Thursday.
“I cannot bear to continue it any longer,” Brown said, holding back tears. “I love her too much to continue.”

A Positive ICWA Case Out of California

We almost never see a positive case out of California. Here is one (In re C.S.), and the words of the juvenile referee Sobel from state court:

The court granted the section 388 petitions filed by mother and father, concluding, “We have an American Indian child. That’s different. We have siblings who are with relatives. That’s different. We have a new baby who has been safely in the mother’s care since the [non-detain] petition was filed. That’s different. So, when you say that the children who are placed with foster parents at birth, that is their parent, the parent that is there night and day, you are correct, in every case, that’s correct. But the point of this is what happens to parents in the part that we call reunification? Where at some point do the parents earn the right to become those people? Where is that transference into being able to be a parent? Now, with the two other children . . . , they are with relatives. Those relatives are glad to step back and be relatives. If they need to adopt, they will. But the fact is they are grandparents. They prefer to be grandparents. I have two parents in complete compliance with their original case plan and American Indian. As to [C.’s older sibling and half-sibling], there’s no question there are changed circumstances here. The issue is best interest and I find it’s in the best interest of [the older sibling and half-sibling] to grant the 388 and place the children home of parents: mom for [the half-sibling and sibling], dad and mom for [the sibling]. We’ve already taken [the baby] off the track [by dismissing the non-detain petition as to her]. . . . [C.] is American Indian. She has three siblings. Those siblings are going home. . . . I am telling you, from my heart, an American Indian child belongs in an American Indian home, especially when that home has siblings in it and parents who are appropriate. There is no question that ICWA requires that I do what is right under ICWA; that I do what’s right for this family, understanding and knowing that C. loves [her de facto parents] both as a primary attachment. . . .    I’m granting mother[’s] and father’s 388 as to C., finding there are changed circumstances and that it is in the child’s best interest to be returned to her parents.”

Coverage of Transfer of Veronica to Adoptive Couple

Tulsa World here.

SCOTUSblog here.

Indian Country Today here.

Tulsa World: Discussions in Baby Girl Case End Without Settlement (Updated)

Here.

Before proceeding with the appeal, the state’s high court required last week’s mediation conference at the Court of Civil Appeals in Tulsa, where the families spent five days in negotiations and returned to the courthouse Monday morning for less than an hour.

The case now goes back to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

ETA: Additional information with statement from Cherokee Nation Attorney General. It appears that the OK Supreme Court lifted the stay. Here.

“This order, just like any other order from a foreign jurisdiction needs to be filed for domestication with the Cherokee Nation District Court,” said Cherokee Nation Attorney General Todd Hembree. “There is a conflicting Cherokee Nation order concerning a Cherokee Nation citizen on Cherokee Nation land. We are a sovereign nation with a valid and historic court system.

“As Attorney General, I will require that our court system be honored and respected. I took an oath when assuming this office to uphold the laws and constitution of the Cherokee Nation and the United States. Nowhere in that oath is it required that I defend the laws of South Carolina.”

Tulsa World: Still No Negotiated Settlement

Here.

Tulsa World: Judge Confirms Mediations Are Underway

Article here.

The settlement judge informed the Tulsa World at mid-day Thursday that negotiations were ongoing but that no final agreement had been reached.

It was the first confirmation that this week’s mysterious proceedings were a mediation conference, where legal disputes are settled by negotiations.

Latest from Tulsa World on Baby Girl Case

Here.

The [appeals court] hearing is apparently related to an order Friday from the Oklahoma Supreme Court, agreeing to let the appeals move forward while 4-year-old Veronica remains with her biological family for the time being.

OK Supreme Court docket (revealing very little) is here.

Citizen Potawatomi Nation v. Dinwiddie Dept. of Social Services

In an unpublished ICWA case, the Virginia Court of Appeals found that an order denying transfer to tribal court is not a final order and therefore the Nation could not appeal the decision. Footnote 6 points out that the court believes an order to transfer to tribal court is a final order and therefore could be appealed.

Decision here.