James Island couple appeals custody case to US Supreme Court
CHARLESTON, S.C. — A court ruling sending a Native American girl back to Oklahoma from her adoptive South Carolina family has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The state Supreme Court ruled that the 2-year-old should be returned to her biological father, a member of the Cherokee tribe.
But in a 142-page petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, attorneys for Matt and Melanie Capobianco of James Island say courts in a dozen states are divided on the interpretation of the Indian Child Welfare Act.
They want the high court to clarify whether a non-custodial parent can use the act to block an adoption undertaken legally by a non-Indian parent under state law.
A state Family Court judge awarded custody of the child to the biological father last year and she was taken to Oklahoma.
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