Indian Child Welfare Act

Oglala Sioux Tribe v. Van Hunnik et al.: Class Action Suit to Force South Dakota Judges to Comply with Indian Child Welfare Act

Matthew L.M. Fletcher6 Comments

Here is the complaint, to be filed today:

OST1 Complaint with Exhibits 3 4 6

From the complaint:

Congress passed the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA) in part because officials in South Dakota and other states were removing scores of Indian children from their homes based on insufficient evidence, and in perfunctory and inadequate hearings, in violation of federal law. Yet today, despite the added protections of ICWA, officials in Pennington County, South Dakota are removing scores of Indian children from their homes based on insufficient evidence, and in perfunctory and inadequate hearings, in violation of federal law.

Attached to this complaint as “Exhibit 1” is the transcript of one such Pennington  County hearing. This hearing, involving Plaintiff Madonna Pappan, her husband, and their two children, lasted little more than sixty seconds. The court did not permit the Pappans to see the petition that had been filed against them by state officials. When Mr. Pappan asked what he was permitted to discuss, the court changed the subject and, a few seconds later, terminated the hearing. The court immediately entered an order (attached as “Exhibit 2”) which found that “active efforts have been made to provide remedial services and rehabilitative programs” to the Pappans, and that taking the Pappan children away from their parents “is the least restrictive alternative available,” even though no evidence was introduced during the hearing on those issues. The order stripped the Pappans of custody over their children for at least sixty days and gave that custody to the officials who had filed the secret petition. As discussed below, Plaintiffs Rochelle Walking Eagle and Lisa Young, like many other Indian parents in Pennington County, were treated similarly during their hearings, and their children were removed from their custody. This lawsuit seeks a speedy end to such a disgraceful process.

Opening Briefs in Baby Veronica Case

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here (thanks to NARF/NILL):

Opening Brief for Petitioners Adoptive Couple

Opening Brief for Respondent GAL Supporting Reversal

NPR: South Dakota Tribal ICW Directors’ Studies on State’s Incredible Lack of Compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here, via Pechanga.

An excerpt:

South Dakota’s Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) directors have issued two reports to Congress: “Reviewing the Facts: An Assessment of the Accuracy of NPR’s ‘Native Foster Care – Lost Children, Shattered Families,’” and “Is South Dakota Over-Prescribing Drugs to Native American Foster Kids?” The first of these reports cites evidence that South Dakota’s Department of Social Services (DSS) is placing 87% of Indian children into non-Indian homes or group care, even while anywhere from 20-43% of licensed Native American foster homes in the state sit empty. This, according to the authors of the report, is in clear violation of the federal ICWA law which requires states to keep Native foster children with their extended families and tribes whenever possible. The study also affirms NPR’s assessment that the state’s ICWA violations are partly motivated by the tens of millions of federal dollars that South Dakota receives for placements of Native children each year.

NYTs on Lack of Indian Foster Families

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

NYTs Room for Debate on Baby Veronica Case

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here.

The debaters:

Kevin Noble Maillard

Terry Cross

Solangel Maldonado

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Joan Hollinger

Marcia Zug

Megan Lindsey

National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges Bulletin to Improve Compliance with ICWA

Adrea Korthase1 Comment

Here

NYTs (Liptak) on SCT Cert Petition involving Cherokee ICWA Case

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here.

Birth Father/Cherokee Nation Cert Opposition Brief in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Cherokee Cert Opp

Guardian ad Litem Brief in Support of Cert Petition in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here:

GAL Brief in Support of Petition

A direct challenge to the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act, filed by Paul Clement. No circuit split, no split of authority in the state courts, arguments never raised below — an emotional plea to an unemotional Court.

Introducing Michigan Supreme Court Candidate Bridget Mary McCormack

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Introducing Michigan Supreme Court Candidate Bridget Mary McCormack

Bridget Mary McCormack is a candidate for the Michigan Supreme Court. She says she is running because she believes our judicial system should give everyone a fair shake, and that she aims to restore public confidence in the Michigan Supreme Court. She appears on the non-partisan section of the November 6 ballot.

By way of background, Bridget spent her early legal career trying cases the Legal Aid Society and with New York’s Office of the Appellate Defender, handling over 1,000 cases for individual clients in the trial and appellate courts. In 1996, she became a faculty fellow at the Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1998, she joined the University of Michigan Law School faculty and made Michigan her permanent home. For the past 14 years McCormack has conducted and supervised many types of litigation, at all levels of state and federal courts in Michigan. She has also created and expanded the Law School’s legal clinics, including clinics for victims of domestic violence, for children with health problems, and a clinic to assist victims of human trafficking, among others.

McCormack has been widely recognized for her commitment to justice for everyone. In 2010, she won the prestigious Justice for All Award, and in 2011, the Washtenaw County Bar Association recognized her with its Patriot Award. Most recently, she has been named the recipient of Thomas M. Cooley Law School Review 2012 Distinguished Brief Award.

She is nominated by the Michigan Democratic Party, and has been endorsed by many organizations and individuals, including both the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press. She received the “highest rating” by the Lansing Association for Human Rights. Her many supporters include Judge Tim Connors and Chairman (Ret.) Derek Bailey. McCormack has a special interest in tribal issues, and her candidacy was recently covered in the Win Awenen Nisitotong. In the words of Judge Connors, one of her mentors: “Bridget Mary McCormack will continue the advocacy of Justice Michael Cavanagh’s respect for tribal sovereignty, self determination, and state court compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act.”

According to McCormack’s campaign, she is guided by a view of the judicial branch once articulated by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who said that the courtroom is one place where fairness should trump strength, and where being right should matter more than being popular or powerful. More information about her candidacy can be found at www.mccormackforjustice.com and www.facebook.com/mccormackforjustice.