Brackeen v. Haaland

Consolidated with:

Docket No.	Op. Below	Argument	Opinion	Vote	Author	Term
21-380	5th Cir.	Nov 9, 2022	TBD	TBD	TBD	OT 2022

Issue: (1) Whether the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978"s placement preferences " which disfavor non-Indian adoptive families in child-placement proceedings involving an "Indian child" and thereby disadvantage those children " discriminate on the basis of race in violation of the U.S. Constitution; and (2) whether ICWA"s placement preferences exceed Congress"s Article I authority by invading the arena of child placement " the "virtually exclusive province of the States," as stated in Sosna v. Iowa " and otherwise commandeering state courts and state agencies to carry out a federal child-placement program.

SCOTUSblog Coverage

Closely divided court scrutinizes various provisions of Indian Child Welfare Act (Amy Howe, November 9, 2022)
In challenge to Indian Child Welfare Act, court will weigh the rights of states and the role of race (Amy Howe, November 8, 2022)
Affirmative action cases up first in November argument calendar (Amy Howe, August 3, 2022)
Justices agree to review constitutionality of Indian Child Welfare Act (Amy Howe, March 1, 2022)
How long do prisoners have to seek DNA evidence? (John Elwood, February 23, 2022)
Revenge of the rescheduled cases: Congressional proxy voting, the ministerial exception, and more (John Elwood, January 20, 2022)
Blockbuster watch: Affirmative action, same-sex weddings, and other big relists (John Elwood, January 12, 2022)
Four petitions on the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act (Andrew Hamm, September 24, 2021)

Date	Proceedings and Orders (key to color coding)
09/03/2021	Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 8, 2021)
09/24/2021	Motion to extend the time to file a response from October 8, 2021 to November 8, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
09/27/2021	Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including November 8, 2021, for all respondents.
10/04/2021	Brief amicus curiae of Ohio filed.VIDED
10/05/2021	Brief amicus curiae of Project on Fair Representation filed.VIDED
10/08/2021	Brief amici curiae of Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare, et al. filed.VIDED
10/08/2021	Brief amici curiae of Goldwater Institute, et al. filed.VIDED
10/25/2021	Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 8, 2021 to December 8, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
10/29/2021	Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including December 8, 2021, for all respondents.
12/08/2021	Brief of respondents Cherokee Nation, et al. in opposition filed.
12/08/2021	Brief of respondents Navajo Nation in opposition filed. VIDED.
12/08/2021	Brief of respondents Texas in opposition filed. VIDED.
12/08/2021	Brief of respondents Federal Respondents in opposition filed.
12/22/2021	DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/7/2022.
12/22/2021	Reply of petitioners Chad Brackeen, et al. filed. (Distributed)
01/10/2022	DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/14/2022.
01/18/2022	DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/21/2022.
02/11/2022	DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/18/2022.
02/22/2022	DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/25/2022.
02/28/2022	Petition GRANTED. The petitions for writs of certiorari in Nos. 21-376, 21-377, and 21-378 are granted. The cases are consolidated, and a total of one hour is allotted for oral argument. Parties that were plaintiffs/appellees in the lower courts shall file opening and reply briefs in conformity with Rules 33.1(g)(v) and 33.1(g)(vii), under the schedule set forth in Rules 25.1 and 25.3. Parties that were defendants/appellants in the lower courts shall file briefs in conformity with Rule 33.1(g)(vi), under the schedule set forth in Rule 25.2.
02/28/2022	Because the Court has consolidated these cases for briefing and oral argument, future filings and activity in the cases will now be reflected on the docket of No. 21-376. Subsequent filings in these cases must therefore be submitted through the electronic filing system in No. 21-376. Each document submitted in connection with one or more of these cases must include on its cover the case number and caption for each case in which the filing is intended to be submitted. Where a filing is submitted in fewer than all of the cases, the docket entry will reflect the case number(s) in which the filing is submitted; a document filed in all of the consolidated cases will be noted as “VIDED.”
07/21/2022	Blanket Consent filed by Respondent, Navajo Nation
08/03/2022	ARGUMENT SET FOR Wednesday, November 9, 2022. VIDED.
08/31/2022	CIRCULATED
09/12/2022	Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 5th Circuit.
09/12/2022	The record from the U.S.C.A. 5th circuit is electronic and located on Pacer.
09/12/2022	The record received from the U.S.D.C. Northern District of Texas has been electronically filed.
11/09/2022	Argued. For Chad Everet Brackeen, et al.: Matthew D. McGill, Washington, D. C. For Texas: Judd E. Stone, II, Solicitor General, Austin, Tex. For federal parties: Edwin S. Kneedler, Deputy Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For tribal parties: Ian H. Gershengorn, Washington, D. C. VIDED.
06/15/2023	Adjudged to be AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, VACATED AND REMANDED IN PART. Barrett, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Jackson, JJ., joined. Gorsuch, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which Sotomayor and Jackson, JJ., joined as to Parts I and III. Kavanaugh, J., filed a concurring opinion. Thomas, J., and Alito, J., filed dissenting opinions. VIDED.
07/17/2023	Judgment issued.