FORT WORTH – Trial and appellate lawyer Chad Baruch is featured in a Fort Worth Star-Telegram news story analyzing recent U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments in Haaland v. Brackeen.
The Supreme Court heard arguments over the constitutionality of the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), which regulates the adoption of Native American children.
The case was brought by a white Fort Worth couple who applied to adopt a child who is a member of the Navajo and Cherokee nations. The family filed for custody of the child in 2017. The court, abiding by ICWA’s policies, ruled against them. The adoption was finalized in 2018, but the family is pursuing civil action against ICWA and two other families from Minnesota and Indiana also joined the suit.
“Native tribes are sovereign nations,” Mr. Baruch told the Star-Telegram. “ICWA, like other federal laws, is based on the understanding that Native Americans are part of a sovereign nation. If ICWA is struck down or even weakened, other laws that protect tribal sovereignty could be at risk.”
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