Navajo Nation v. State of Utah

Summary

The Supreme Court of Utah dismissed the Navajo Nation's appeal from an adoption order involving two enrolled Navajo children because the Nation did not timely file a notice of appeal bearing its signature. The court held that the Indian Child Welfare Act does not preempt Utah's notice-of-appeal requirements and that those requirements apply to Indian tribes. The court also concluded that Utah law permitted the Nation to appeal the adoption order, but the Nation's failure to comply with the applicable procedural rules deprived the court of jurisdiction.

Holdings

1. The Indian Child Welfare Act does not preempt Utah's notice-of-appeal requirements. ICWA does not expressly or impliedly occupy the field of state appellate procedure, does not conflict with Utah's timely-signature requirements, and does not otherwise override those requirements.
2. Indian tribes are not exempt from Utah's notice-of-appeal requirements. The Nation's quasi-sovereign status did not excuse its failure to file a timely notice of appeal bearing its signature or to file the required certification of diligent search.
3. The adoptive parents were not entitled to attorney fees and costs because the Nation's appeal was neither frivolous nor interposed for purposes of delay.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Indian Child Welfare Act preempts Utah's notice-of-appeal requirements.
2. Whether the Navajo Nation, as a quasi-sovereign Indian tribe, was exempt from Utah's requirements that a notice of appeal be timely filed and signed by the appellant.
3. Whether the adoptive parents were entitled to attorney fees and costs under Utah Rule of Appellate Procedure 33.

Disposition

dismissed