In Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, the United States Supreme Court, in essence, says that an absentee Indian cannot rely on ICWA to challenge an adoption. The Court said that the heightened standard outlined in ICWA does not apply to a parent that has not either had physical or legal custody of the child. The essence of the ICWA is to preserve the bonds within the Indian community, and in this case the child was never in the custody of the Indian father.
