October 31, 2019
Texas, Louisiana and Indiana, along with a group of adoptive parents, pressed the Fifth Circuit to revisit its ruling that the Indian Child Welfare Act is constitutional, saying Thursday the decision is out of step with U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
October 24, 2019
The federal government and the Navajo Nation have urged the Fifth Circuit to deny a bid by three states and several foster couples to rethink its decision that the Indian Child Welfare Act is constitutional, saying they haven't explained why their arguments are worthy of reconsideration.
October 02, 2019
Texas, Louisiana and Indiana and several foster couples urged the Fifth Circuit on Tuesday to revisit its decision that the Indian Child Welfare Act is constitutional, saying the ruling conflicts with a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision by allowing the federal government to commandeer state courts.
August 09, 2019
The Fifth Circuit on Friday overturned a Texas district judge's decision that struck down the Indian Child Welfare Act as unconstitutionally race-based, handing a major win to tribes by backing tribal sovereignty and upholding a law tribes contend is vital to sustaining Native families and culture.
July 12, 2019
Native American law practitioners will be keeping close tabs on the U.S. Supreme Court's reboot of a murder case with major implications for tribal jurisdiction in Oklahoma as well as on Fifth Circuit challenges to the Indian Child Welfare Act and the Affordable Care Act and the first trial in the massive opioid multidistrict litigation.
March 04, 2019
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton praised a decision that state law requiring state courts to enforce the federal Indian Child Welfare Act in child custody proceedings violated the Texas constitution, but drew fire from tribes backing ICWA for revealing the name of the child involved in the case.
February 20, 2019
Several Native American tribes and the federal government have urged the Fifth Circuit to overturn a lower court decision striking down the Indian Child Welfare Act as unconstitutional, saying the law helps satisfy the government's trust and treaty obligations to tribes by protecting Indian children.
February 07, 2019
Texas, Louisiana and Indiana have told the Fifth Circuit that a district court decision striking down the Indian Child Welfare Act should stand, saying the law and a related 2016 U.S. Department of the Interior rule impermissibly intrude on the states' authority.
February 06, 2019
The state of Ohio urged the Fifth Circuit on Wednesday to uphold a lower-court ruling striking down the Indian Child Welfare Act, saying that the federal government doesn't have the power under the Constitution to interfere with states' decisions in child welfare cases.
January 23, 2019
Texas, Louisiana and Indiana have urged the Fifth Circuit to reject the Navajo Nation's bid to take part in the states’ suit that led a lower court to strike down the Indian Child Welfare Act, saying the tribe can't show that its interests aren't already represented by other tribes and the federal government.