People ex rel. J.L.P.

870 P.2d 1252, 17 Brief Times Rptr. 242, 1994 Colo. App. LEXIS 35
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 10, 1994
DocketNos. 92CA1007, 92CA1777
StatusPublished
Cited by36 cases

This text of 870 P.2d 1252 (People ex rel. J.L.P.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People ex rel. J.L.P., 870 P.2d 1252, 17 Brief Times Rptr. 242, 1994 Colo. App. LEXIS 35 (Colo. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

Opinion by

Judge TAUBMAN.

In this dependency and neglect proceeding concerning two children, W.J.P. and C.P., guardian ad litem, Gaynell Gavin (GAL), appeals the order of the juvenile court transferring jurisdiction to the Oglala Sioux (Tribe) tribal court under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), 25 U.S.C. § 1901, et seq. (1988). The GAL also appeals the juvenile court’s order limiting the scope of the record and its refusal to hold a permanency planning hearing during the pendency of the appeal. We affirm.

In September 1990, the Denver Department of Social Services (DDSS) filed a dependency and neglect petition against M.L.P. (father) and S.R.P. (mother), involving their minor children, two of whom are W.J.P. and C.P., ages 7 and 6, respectively. Because the children were enrolled members or eligible for enrollment in the Oglala Sioux Tribe, see 25 U.S.C. § 1903(4) (1988), the Tribe was notified of the proceedings pursuant to the ICWA in October 1990. The children were adjudicated dependent and neglected and placed in the custody of DDSS in April of 1991. A treatment plan for the father was ordered. The mother is now deceased.

In approximately October 1991 the Tribe intervened and requested that jurisdiction be transferred to the tribal court. The GAL requested a plan regarding the care and custody of the children from the Tribe. She also attempted to obtain information regarding the Tribe’s plans for the children through interrogatories and a request for production of documents. The Tribe refused to supply a custody plan or comply with the GAL’s discovery requests because it took the position that these requests interfered with tribal sovereignty and the ICWA. The proceedings dealing with two older children were transferred to the Tribe by stipulation.

Later, the GAL sought to compel discovery and the Tribe requested a protective order. At a motions hearing, the juvenile court granted the Tribe’s request for a protective order and requested additional briefing on whether good cause existed to prevent transfer of the matter to the Tribe. The juvenile court reserved the right to make findings on this matter based on the briefs [1256]*1256and without conducting a subsequent hearing. It later found that good cause did not exist to retain jurisdiction and transferred the matter to the Tribe. The GAL appealed. In June 1992, a division of our court granted a stay of execution of transfer of jurisdiction pending appeal.

The GAL submitted her designation of the record to which the Tribe objected as being overbroad. A motions panel of this court remanded the motion for determination by the juvenile court. The juvenile court granted the Tribe’s motion to exclude documents not related to the transfer of jurisdiction issue.

The GAL also requested a family interac-tional evaluation and a permanency planning hearing after the juvenile court had transferred jurisdiction to the Tribe and after a notice of appeal had been filed. The juvenile court denied the motion because it believed it lacked jurisdiction.

I. Transfer of Jurisdiction

Presenting an issue of first impression in Colorado, the GAL argues that the juvenile court improperly transferred jurisdiction to the Tribe when good cause existed for it to retain such jurisdiction. We disagree with the GAL’s contention.

A.The Indian Child Welfare Act

The ICWA was enacted to prevent the separation of large numbers of Indian children from their families and tribes caused by adoption or foster care placement in non-Indian homes by state child welfare entities. The Congressional findings that were incorporated into the ICWA reflect the sentiment that no resource is more vital to the continued existence and integrity of Indian tribes than their children. 25 U.S.C. § 1901 (1988). Hence, the ICWA provides Indian tribes with jurisdiction to determine child placement and adoption.

At the core of the ICWA are its provisions concerning jurisdiction over Indian child custody proceedings. 25 U.S.C. § 1911 (1988) provides a dual jurisdictional scheme. 25 U.S.C. § 1911(a) (1988) establishes exclusive jurisdiction in the tribal courts for proceedings involving an Indian child “who resides or is domiciled within the reservation of such tribe_” Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield, 490 U.S. 30, 109 S.Ct. 1597, 104 L.Ed.2d 29 (1989).

The provision applicable here, 25 U.S.C. § 1911(b) (1988), creates concurrent jurisdiction between the state in which the child resides and the tribe. It states:

In any State court proceeding for the foster care placement of, or termination of parental rights to, an Indian child not domiciled or residing within the reservation of the Indian child’s tribe, the court, in the absence of good cause to the contrary, shall transfer such proceeding to the jurisdiction of the tribe, absent objection by either party, upon the petition of either parent or the Indian custodian or the Indian child’s tribe: Provided, That such transfer shall be subject to declination by the tribal court of such tribe.

Thus, even for an Indian child who lives off reservation, the tribal court is still the preferred jurisdiction under the Act absent a showing of “good cause” to the contrary. See In re Robert T., 200 Cal.App.3d 657, 246 Cal.Rptr. 168 (1988).

B.Standard of Review

Whether good cause exists to retain jurisdiction is within the juvenile court’s discretion. In re Dependency & Neglect of A.L., 442 N.W.2d 233 (S.D.1989); In re Wayne R.N., 107 N.M. 341, 757 P.2d 1333, 1335 (1988). This determination is necessarily made on a case-by-case basis, after careful consideration of all the circumstances of the case. In re Wayne R.N., supra. Thus, our review is limited to an examination of the record to determine whether substantial evidence supports the juvenile court’s finding. In re Robert T., supra; In re Wayne R.N., supra.

C.Good Cause

Good cause is not defined in the ICWA. Instead, the Bureau of Indian Af[1257]*1257fairs (BIA) has issued guidelines for determining whether good cause exists. Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Guidelines for State Courts; Indian Child Welfare Custody Proceedings — Part III, 44 Fed.Reg. 67,583 (1979) (BIA Guidelines). Although the BIA followed the notice and comment rulemaking procedures of the federal Administrative Procedure Act, the Guideline's were not published as regulations out of deference to state and tribal courts and because they were not intended to have binding legislative effect.

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Bluebook (online)
870 P.2d 1252, 17 Brief Times Rptr. 242, 1994 Colo. App. LEXIS 35, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-ex-rel-jlp-coloctapp-1994.