Gaddie v. K.S.D.

Summary

The North Dakota Supreme Court reviewed the termination of a father’s parental rights to two Indian children. The court concluded that state-law grounds for termination and the Indian Child Welfare Act’s active-efforts requirement were satisfied, but the record lacked testimony from a qualified expert witness addressing whether continued custody would likely cause serious emotional or physical damage. The court retained jurisdiction and remanded for a hearing limited to that ICWA requirement.

Questions Presented

1. Whether clear and convincing evidence supported the North Dakota statutory grounds for terminating the father's parental rights.
2. Whether the state made the active efforts required by ICWA to prevent the breakup of the Indian family and those efforts were unsuccessful.
3. Whether ICWA permitted termination without testimony from a qualified expert witness and proof beyond a reasonable doubt that continued custody by the parent was likely to cause serious emotional or physical damage to