Haaland v. Brackeen

599 U.S. 255, 143 S. Ct. 1609 (2023)

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Haaland v. Brackeen

United States Supreme Court
599 U.S. 255, 143 S. Ct. 1609 (2023)

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Facts

When Child P. entered the Minnesota foster-care system, the White Earth Ojibwe Nation stated that she did not qualify for tribal membership. Later, when the non-native Clifford family (plaintiffs) sought to adopt Child P., the tribe changed its position, asserting that Child P. was in fact a tribal member. The state then placed Child P. with her Native American maternal grandmother to comply with the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), which required state courts to make active efforts to keep Native American families together, e.g., by placing Native American children with Native American caretakers to the extent possible. The Cliffords joined an existing federal lawsuit filed by the Brackeens (plaintiffs), who were undergoing a similar custody battle, against the United States, the Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Department of Health and Human Services (collectively, the federal government) (defendant). The suit challenged ICWA on constitutional grounds, including Tenth Amendment anticommandeering principles. The anticommandeering arguments focused on ICWA’s requirement of active efforts to keep Native American families together, plus related requirements like recordkeeping, particularly as applied to state courts. Several tribes joined as intervenors to defend ICWA. The district court found in favor of the Brackeens and Cliffords. The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Barrett, J.)

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