Fla. L. Rev. Forum

Professor Bethany R. Berger’s recent article, In the Name of the Child: Race, Gender, and Economics in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, takes a somewhat distrustful perspective on the Court’s decision. In that case a native father of a child born out of wedlock was not entitled to all of the protections afforded to native parents under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). The decision could be construed as being very limited in its scope and directing state courts not to engage in contortions of language in federal laws to protect the rights of putative fathers, whose rights to object to adoptions appear dubious under state law. Read More.