Supreme Court of California

In a case to determine whether two state court rules adopted to implement The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA), 25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq., are valid: 1) rule 5.482(c) of the California Rules of Court, which requires the juvenile court to 'proceed as if the child is an Indian child' and to take steps 'to secure tribal membership for the child,' is invalid because it conflicts with the Legislature's intent to enforce ICWA by codifying its provisions, thus leaving cases not involving Indian children subject to the statutes generally applicable in dependency proceedings; and 2) the related rule 5.484(c)(2), which merely directs the juvenile court to pursue tribal membership for a child who is already an Indian child as defined in ICWA, in order to prevent the breakup of the Indian family and to qualify the child for tribal services, is consistent with state law and valid.

Appellate Information

• Published 2016/07/14

Judges

• WERDEGAR

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel