Aiken Standard February 6, 2012 CHARLESTON -- A South Carolina adoption case is pitting the couple who nurtured a 2-year-old girl against the child's biological father, a Cherokee Nation member who took her back to Oklahoma after winning custody of her. The South Carolina Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case, and the justices could for the first time be weighing state adoption law against a federal law, little known in South Carolina, meant to protect Native American children. It's not clear why a family court judge granted custody to the father because the case record is confidential. But a Charleston adoption attorney who has been watching the case closely said the judge may have ruled as he did because of the federal law. Or the judge may also have questioned the validity of a waiver signed by 2-year-old Veronica's father allowing her to be put up for adoption. The federal Indian Child Welfare Act was passed in 1978 because of the high number of Indian children that at the time were being removed from their homes by public and private agencies. The act gives the child's tribe and family the right to have a say in decisions affecting the child. In this case, now-2-year-old Veronica was adopted by Matt and Melanie Capobianco, who live on James Island. They have cared for her since she was born. The child's father, Dusten Brown, a member of the Cherokee Nation, signed the waiver. But four months later, he went to court seeking custody. The courts eventually awarded Brown custody of the child, and he arrived in Charleston on New Year's Eve with his parents to take the girl back to Oklahoma. Brown's attorney, Shannon Jones, would not comment on the case to The Associated Press. But she has said previously that her client didn't understand the waiver and "loves this child with all his heart." The Capobiancos also refused a request for an interview, citing a gag order sought in the case. Their attorneys also did not want to comment. Read more: Emotional adoption case may weigh state versus federal law | Aiken Standard Under Creative Commons License: Attribution http://www.aikenstandard.com/story/m1017-BC-SC-IndianChildWelfar-2nd-LdWritethru-02-05-0974--3769061 |