Source: http://www.narf.org/icwa/state/arizona/case/jaredp.html
Timestamp: 2014-11-26 10:00:46
Document Index: 267922657

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 8', '§ 8', '§ 1903', '§ 1903', '§ 1914', '§ 8']

*158 Law Office of Kathleen M. Mucerino by Kathleen M. Mucerino, Sun City, Attorney for Appellant.
¶ 4 Jared learned of the birth the following week. He filed a petition on September 19, 2006, to adjudicate parentage in Ochiltree County, Texas. Mother, meanwhile, had *159 asked her cousins, Glade and Tandy T. (“adoptive parents”) to adopt the baby. They agreed, and served Jared with a notice to potential fathers pursuant to A.R.S. § 8-106(G) on the same day he filed his paternity action. He amended his petition on October 5, 2006, and requested genetic testing and custody. Mother, while temporarily in Texas, was served with the amended petition on October 31, 2006.
*160 [1] ¶ 14 Generally, any aggrieved party can file an appeal from the final order of the juvenile court. A.R.S. § 8-235(A) (2007); Ariz. R.P. Juv. Ct. 103(A). If the order is not a final order, the appeal is premature. See Maricopa County Juvenile Action No. A-26961, 135 Ariz. 228, 230-31, 660 P.2d 479, 481-82 (App.1982). If the appeal is not timely filed pursuant to Arizona Rules of Procedure for the Juvenile Court 88 and 89, we do not have jurisdiction. See State v. Garza, 128 Ariz. 8, 10, 623 P.2d 367, 369 (App.1981) (dismissing appeal as untimely because mother filed it more than fifteen days after the issuance of the minute entry terminating her parental rights). Consequently, we examine whether Jared's appeal is timely.
[4][5][6] ¶ 18 ICWA imposes requirements on state courts when an Indian child is the subject of a child custody proceeding. Steven H., 218 Ariz. at 568, ¶ 1, 190 P.3d at 182. A child custody proceeding includes preadoptive and adoptive placement of an Indian child, as well as termination of an Indian parent's parental rights. 25 U.S.C. § 1903(1); see also Miss. Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield, 490 U.S. 30, 42, 109 S.Ct. 1597, 104 L.Ed.2d 29 (1989); Maricopa County Juvenile Action No. A-25525, 136 Ariz. 528, 531 n. 2, 667 P.2d 228, 231 n. 2 (App.1983). ICWA defines an Indian child as “any unmarried person who is under age eighteen and is either (a) a member of an Indian tribe or (b) is eligible for membership in an Indian tribe and is the biological child of a member of an Indian tribe.” 25 U.S.C. § 1903(4). Enrollment is not a necessary condition of tribal membership, although membership may be established through proof of enrollment. Dwayne P. v. Superior Court, 103 Cal.App.4th 247, 126 Cal.Rptr.2d *161 639, 646 (2002); Nelson v. Hunter, 132 Or.App. 361, 888 P.2d 124, 125 (1995). Each tribe, however, determines its membership, and its determination that a person is a member of the tribe is conclusive. Ariz. Dep't of Econ. Sec. v. Bernini, 202 Ariz. 562, 565, ¶ 13, 48 P.3d 512, 515 (App.2002) (“[ A] tribe's determination that a child is or is not a member ..., is or is not eligible for membership ..., or that the biological parent is or is not a member of that tribe is conclusive.” (quoting Bureau of Indian Affairs Guidelines for State Court; Indian Child Custody Proceedings B.1(b)(i), 44 Fed.Reg. 67586 (Nov. 26, 1979))).
[7] ¶ 23 Once a court has notice that the child is an Indian child, subsequent proceedings may be invalidated if the court thereafter fails to comply with ICWA. See 25 U.S.C. *162 § 1914. Our determination that ICWA is prospective from the time it is discovered that an Indian child is involved and not retroactive to the child's birth is shared by other jurisdictions. See People in Interest of A.E., 749 P.2d 450, 451 (Colo.Ct.App.1987) (citing Juvenile Action No. A-25525, 136 Ariz. at 533, 667 P.2d at 233 (App.1983)) (holding ICWA is not applicable until the child meets the criteria for “Indian child”); In re Adoption of a Child of Indian Heritage, 111 N.J. 155, 543 A.2d 925 (N.J.1988) (upholding adoption because court did not have notice that child was an Indian child and father did not acknowledge paternity until after the adoption was finalized).
¶ 27 Although Jared failed to comply formally with A.R.S. § 8-106, the juvenile court had not resolved his parental status before it became aware that he had enrolled in the Nation, and that J. was an Indian child. The juvenile court, as a result, was required to recognize the applicability of ICWA and Rule 84(c)(6). The court should not have found that Jared's acknowledgement was too late to invoke ICWA as we found in Juvenile Action *163 No. A-25525, 136 Ariz. at 532, 667 P.2d at 232. Thus, the juvenile court erred as a matter of law by not recognizing that J. was an Indian child after August 2007 and following ICWA's provisions and Rule 84(c)(6) in subsequent proceedings.
Ariz.App. Div. 1,2009.
Jared P. v. Glade T.
221 Ariz. 21, 209 P.3d 157