Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl (570 U.S. ____ 2013)

This case, decided in June of 2013, involved Christina Maldonado, a non-Indian single mother of two, and Dustin Brown, a member of the Cherokee Nation. After their relationship, in which Maldonado cut off contact with Brown upon having his child, the baby girl was put up for adoption. Brown had not legally forfeited his parental rights, nor were the proper legal procedures taken to facilitate the adoption. Although this case was sensationalized by the media, it was the failure to comply with ICWA, which ensures that tribes had an opportunity to sign off on the adoption of tribal children, was what caused the controversy in the case.

The court held that several sections of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) do not apply to Native American (Indian) biological fathers who were not custodians of an Indian child. The court held that involuntary termination procedures required by the ICWA did not apply when the child had never lived with the father and that therefore active remedial requirements were also not required. The majority opinion was handed down by Justice Alito, and joined by Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, and Breyer. Justice Sotomayor, joined by Ginsburg, Kagan, and Scalia (in part), dissented.