U.S. Supreme Court Schedules Review Of Baby Veronica Case

The U.S. Supreme Court will review the case of a little girl at the center of a two-state custody battle.

On December 31st, 2010, the South Carolina Supreme Court ordered a couple there to return their adopted daughter Veronica to her birth father, a member of the Cherokee tribe who lives in Oklahoma.

In October 2012, the couple, Matt and Melanie Capobianco, filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court in hopes the high court would overturn the South Carolina court decision.

Read the 142-page petition to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The case centers on interpretation of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act.

Attorneys for the Capobiancos want the high court to clarify whether a non-custodial parent can use the act to block an adoption undertaken legally by a non-Indian parent under state law.

The biological father, Dustin Brown, took custody of Veronica on December 31st, 2010.

10/5/2012 Related Story: Baby Veronica Case Appeal Filed With U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to review the case during a January 4th conference.