Citations
- 45 Cal. App. 4th 1483
Full opinion text
Opinion
WALLIN, J.
The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma (the SNO) appeals from the judgment terminating the parental rights of Renea Y., an enrolled tribal member, to her daughter, Alexandria. The SNO contends the trial court violated the Indian Child Welfare Act (hereinafter ICWA or Act) by failing to transfer jurisdiction of the proceedings to the SNO and failing to follow the ICWA placement preferences. We find the trial court properly refused to apply the provisions of the ICWA because neither Alexandria nor Renea had any significant social, cultural or political relationship with Indian life; thus, there was no existing Indian family to preserve.
Facts
Alexandria Y. was bom in December 1990 with cocaine in her system. She was immediately taken into custody by the Orange County Social Services Agency (SSA) and was placed in an emergency shelter home. She was declared a dependent of the juvenile court under Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivisions (a) and (b) in February 1991. In August, when Alexandria was seven months old, she was moved to the home of the T.’s, an Hispanic family, where she has lived ever since. In September, the six-month review hearing was held. SSA had been unable to locate either parent and neither of them had contacted or visited Alexandria. The trial court terminated reunification services and set a selection and implementation hearing for December 1991.
In October, SSA discovered that Renea was an enrolled member of the SNO, making Alexandria eligible for enrollment and potentially subject to the ICWA. It was determined that Renea is one-eighth Seminole Indian; she was adopted as a toddler by a non-Indian family. The selection and implementation hearing was continued several times to accommodate the notice requirements of the ICWA, and the SNO indicated its intent to intervene in the proceedings by letter dated February 11, 1992. It expressly stated it did “not wish to transfer these state court proceedings to tribal court,” but requested that the trial court follow the placement preferences of the ICWA. The SNO (and, for the first time, Renea) appeared on March 31. The SNO again requested the placement preferences be followed, and in May counsel was appointed to represent it. In June, the trial court held a hearing to determine whether Alexandria was an Indian child as defined by the ICWA. After several days of testimony, the trial court concluded that she was, but found the ICWA inapplicable because the SNO’s criteria for membership was not based on a quantum of blood analysis and was, therefore, unreasonable.
The SNO filed for writ relief in this court, arguing that once a minor is determined to be an “Indian child” as defined by the ICWA, the juvenile court has no jurisdiction to consider the reasonableness of such determination. This court agreed, and issued a peremptory writ of mandate directing the trial court to recognize “SNO’s determination that Alexandria is an Indian child and therefore entitled to placement preference under section 1915, subdivision (b) [fn. omitted].” (Seminole Nation of Oklahoma v. Superior Court (July 31, 1992) G012836 [nonpub. opn.].)
When proceedings resumed, the mother filed a petition to transfer Alexandria’s case to the tribal court. (25 U.S.C. § 1911(b).) The trial court set a hearing on the issue of whether good cause existed to deny the transfer petition, followed by the trailing selection and implementation hearing, for September 21. The trial court notified the SNO of the transfer petition by letter, stating, “Please be advised that the mother of [Alexandria] . . . has . . . filed a Petition for Transfer of Case to Tribal Court . . . . [