High Court Hears Adoption Case

Federal law never said the rights of a South Dakota tribe outweigh the rights of an individual Indian boy adopted by a Canyon County couple, the boy’s attorneys contend.

They argued the case of Casey Swenson before the Idaho Supreme Court on Monday. Gov. Phil Batt made a brief appearance in the court before the hearing, saying he was a friend of the Swenson family.

Casey was born in 1989 and placed with Leland and Karla Swenson of Nampa almost immediately after the delivery. He is the natural son of Jeff Not Help Him, a member of the Sioux Tribe.

The natural mother, a white woman, consented to terminate her parental rights. But when the Swensons sought to terminate Not Help Him’s rights, the tribe intervened.

The Swensons prevailed before 3rd District Magistrate James Morfitt and in district court, but the Idaho Supreme Court overturned a decision allowing the adoption without applying the federal Indian Child Welfare Act requirements.

The high court took the arguments under advisement.