| Updated: 8/23/2012 3:56 pm |
Published: 8/23/2012 3:55 pm
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The South Carolina Supreme Court has denied a request for rehearing in the custody case of a couple fighting for custody of their adoptive daughter, Veronica.
The state's highest court ruled last month in favor of the Indian Child Welfare Act and affirmed that Matt and Melanie Capobianco’s 2-year-old adoptive daughter will remain in Oklahoma with her biological father Dusten Brown.
Veronica was taken from her adoptive parents on New Year’s Eve 2011 to be reunited with her father under the Indian Welfare Act, a law meant to keep Native American children with members of their tribe.
The request for the rehearing was the last legal step the Capobiancos could take regarding their case within South Carolina's jurisdiction. The couple has 90 days to appeal to the United States Supreme Court.
According to family friend, Jessica Munday, the couple continues to struggle with the court's decision. "There really are no words to describe the incredible heartbreak, disappointment and pain this family is feeling."
It is not known at this time if the family will appeal to the United States Supreme Court.
In May, the Cherokee Nation petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review a U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling that the Indian Child Welfare Act did not apply to what a three-judge panel termed "temporary" tribal citizenship conferred solely for ICWA purposes. This case also involved a multiracial child and non-Native American adoptive parents. The U.S. Supreme Court denied the Cherokee Nation's request.
