Brackeen v. Haaland

  1. October 07, 2024

    5th Circ. Gears Up To Tackle High Court's ICWA Ruling

    The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is gearing up to tackle the high court's ruling last year that upheld the Indian Child Welfare Act, which determined that the nearly 50-year-old law does not exceed the federal government's authority in imposing a standard procedure on Indigenous child custody cases.

  2. July 08, 2021

    Biggest Native American Rulings From The 1st Half Of 2021

    The U.S. Supreme Court handed down decisions on tribal police authority over non-Indians, Native American voting rights in Arizona, and Alaska Native corporations' eligibility for COVID-19 relief funds, while the full Fifth Circuit rejected a lower court's move to strike down the entire Indian Child Welfare Act.

  3. April 16, 2021

    ICWA Hangs On, But Messy Ruling Ripe For High Court

    The en banc Fifth Circuit recently refused to endorse a Texas federal judge's decision to strike down the entire Indian Child Welfare Act, but the complicated 325-page appellate opinion will likely invite U.S. Supreme Court review, attorneys say.

  4. April 07, 2021

    Fractured 5th Circ. Keeps And Strikes Portions Of ICWA

    The full Fifth Circuit in an intricately divided opinion has upheld and overturned parts a Texas federal judge's decision that the Indian Child Welfare Act is unconstitutional, while also ruling that the federal government had the authority to enact the law to protect Native American families.

  5. July 31, 2020

    Native American Cases To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2020

    Native American law practitioners will be keeping an eye on the full Fifth Circuit's upcoming decision on the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act, an Eighth Circuit dispute over whether a federal worker safety law applies to a Minnesota tribe's fishing company, and U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments with implications for tribal provisions of the Affordable Care Act.

  6. January 08, 2020

    States Urge 5th Circ. To Keep Ruling ICWA Is Unconstitutional

    Texas, Louisiana and Indiana urged the full Fifth Circuit on Tuesday to reject a bid by several Native American tribes and the federal government to overturn a ruling that the Indian Child Welfare Act is unconstitutionally race-based, arguing that Congress' power to legislate for tribes must be limited.

  7. December 20, 2019

    Biggest Native American Rulings From The 2nd Half Of 2019

    Federal courts handed key wins to tribes in the past six months by blocking a proposed Arizona mine and requiring more Federal Communications Commission review for 5G infrastructure, but also rebuffed Native American voters' challenge to a North Dakota law and ordered the Seneca Nation to fork over casino revenue to New York. Here, Law360 looks at the significant rulings in Native American law from the second half of 2019.

  8. December 13, 2019

    Native Groups, Profs, States Champion ICWA To 5th Circ.

    Native American women, tribes, advocacy organizations, law professors, states and members of Congress urged the Fifth Circuit on Thursday and Friday to overturn a lower court's ruling that the Indian Child Welfare Act is unconstitutional, ahead of a full circuit rehearing in January.

  9. November 07, 2019

    Full 5th Circ. To Rehear Challenge To Indian Child Welfare Act

    The Fifth Circuit said Thursday it will rehear a challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act en banc, overriding objections from tribes and the federal government and giving hope to Texas and other states that claim the law is unconstitutionally race-based.

  10. November 05, 2019

    States Still Off Base In Bid To Annul Indian Child Law: Feds

    The federal government pressed the Fifth Circuit on Monday to reject a bid by a group of states and adoptive parents to revisit the court's ruling that the Indian Child Welfare Act is constitutional, saying tribes define membership politically even when biological ties are part of that consideration.