Most family law matters in New Jersey are guided by state laws. Some complicated issues, however, involve an intricate intersection of state and federal law. This is the case when it comes to adoption, an area where federal laws provide standards by which state laws must comply.

One federal law that arches over state adoption laws is the federal Indian Child Welfare Act. This law was enacted in 1978 when a significant number of Native American children were being removed from their homes by child welfare organizations. Activists argued that the child removals were the result of racial discrimination and a misunderstanding of cultural norms, so the ICWA was enacted to give additional child custody rights to tribes and families. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court took up a case that involves a review of the ICWA.

The case involves a South Carolina couple who adopted a Native American baby girl shortly after she was born. Shortly thereafter, the girl’s father, a member of the Cherokee Nation, went to court to seek custody. The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the girl must go back to her father due to the ICWA.

The ICWA gives children’s tribes and their families the right to have input on decisions that affect them.

The girls’ adoptive parents appealed that decision and the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review it.

The case involves several complexities including the fact that the child’s biological mother, who put her up for adoption, is not a Native American. The child’s biological father was not married to the mother, and thus the court may have to determine what steps an unmarried man must take to be considered a parent under the ICWA.

The court is expected to hear the case later this year. The court’s ruling has the potential to affect thousands of other child custody cases.

Source: Associated Press, “Court to review Native American adoption case,” Jan. 4, 2012

Source: Thomson Reuters News & Insight, “Top Court to Hear American Indian Adoption Case,” Jonathan Stempel and Terry Baynes, Jan. 4, 2013