Dusten Brown (baby Veronica case)

In 2009, Matt and Melanie Capobianco, a couple from South Carolina sought to adopt a child whose father, Dusten Brown, was a member of the Cherokee Nation. Brown contested the adoption on the grounds that he was not properly notified in accordance with Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) , and won his cases in trial court and on appeal with the state supreme court.

On October 1, 2012, the adoptive couple petitioned the United States Supreme Court to review the case. On January 4, 2013, the court granted certiorari and heard the case on April 16, 2013. On June 25, 2013, the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision, sending the case back to the state court of South Carolina for further hearings on the issue. On July 31, 2013, the South Carolina trial court finalized the adoption of the child to the adoptive couple, but on August 30. 2013, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the girl would not immediately be transferred from the custody of her biological father to the South Carolina couple who adopted her. The stay was lifted on September 23, 2013 and the child was turned over to her adoptive parents on the same day.