In re L.D.

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court terminating Mother’s parental rights to her minor child, L.D., holding that the court erred in proceeding with termination of parental rights in the absence of a conclusive tribal determination regarding L.D.’s status as an Indian child as defined in the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).In its order terminating Mother’s parental rights to L.D., the district court noted that the State and Mother agreed that ICWA did not apply because L.D. was not an Indian child as defined by the ICWA. The Supreme Court held that the district court abused its discretion in terminating Mother’s parental rights to L.D. without a conclusive tribal determination of tribal membership status and enrollment eligibility. The court remanded the case for a determination of whether L.D. was an Indian child based on a conclusive tribal determination of tribal membership and eligibility. View "In re L.D." on Justia Law