1 min read

Judge In Indian Child Welfare Case Asks Court To Reconsider

Associated Press0

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota state judge and other defendants have filed motions requesting a federal judge reconsider his ruling in which he found state officials in Rapid City set policies that violate the federal Indian Child Act Welfare Act.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Viken issued the opinion on a lawsuit last month that was brought by the Oglala Sioux and Rosebud Sioux tribes and three Native American parents.

Viken wrote that state Judge Jeff Davis and other defendants have failed to protect American Indian parents’ fundamental rights at preliminary 48-hour custody hearings. Some of the violations Viken cited included not allowing parents to testify and not allowing them a court-appointed lawyer.

Davis and other defendants raised factual and legal challenges in their motions to reconsider that they filed this week.

The AP is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, as a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members, it can maintain its single-minded focus on newsgathering and its commitment to the highest standards of objective, accurate journalism.
Website http://ap.org/

Related Posts