Supreme Court of California

In a juvenile delinquency case, the judgment of the district court is affirmed, as California law requires the court to inquire about a child's Indian status at the outset of all juvenile proceedings, but the Indian Child Welfare Act's (ICWA) additional procedures are not required in most delinquency cases. Specifically, a delinquency court must ensure that notice is given and other ICWA procedures are complied with only when: 1) exercising "dual status" jurisdiction over an Indian child; 2) placing an Indian child outside the family home for committing a "status offense"; or 3) placing an Indian child initially detained for criminal conduct outside the family for reasons based entirely on harmful conditions in the home.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/06/2012
• Published 08/06/2012

Judges

• Corrigan

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel