Appeals court finds parental kidnapping law does not apply to tribal nations
Source: NBC News
A federal law preventing parents from taking custody battles across state lines did not apply to tribal nations, a federal appeals court ruled this week.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit on Tuesday ruled in a longstanding custody dispute involving a mother, who is a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux. After taking her two children to the South Dakota reservation in 2014 in defiance of a joint custody order in North Dakota, she was convicted of kidnapping under a federal law — the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act of 1980.
That law was intended to stop parents from bringing new child custody cases across state lines. But the appeals court ruled it did not apply to tribal nations because the statute did not specifically mention them. The decision was binding in 8th Circuit courts — which include North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Arkansas — a legal expert said.
Kate Fort, the director of clinics at Michigan State University College of Law, said the decision supported the authority of tribal courts in those states to hear custody cases involving their citizens — even if there were existing orders in place from another court. Both state and tribal courts want to reach justice quickly and not duplicate their efforts, she said.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/appeals-court-parental-kidnapping-prevention-act-tribes-rcna100706
