The Baby Veronica legal case now goes to the U.S. Supreme Court.
After birth to a half Hispanic and half Caucasian mother, Veronica was given up. The father, Dusten Brown, signed papers giving up his rights to her, and Matt and Melanie Capobianco adopted her. Two and a half years later, the father retained custody under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978.
But family friend Jessica Munday tells OneNewsNow the father is only a fraction Indian -- and the baby even less.
"From what we know she is about one percent Cherokee Indian, and certainly her DNA represents mostly Caucasian and Mexican heritage," she says. "And one of our biggest arguments all along has been how in this country can we allow one heritage to trump another."
Veronica was given back to the biological father on New Year's Eve 2011. The parents took the case to the court system, with the South Carolina Supreme Court ruling in July in favor of the Indian Child Welfare Act in spite of the father's minimal Indian ancestry.
"They're obviously devastated," Munday declares. "It seems like every step they take we hope for a miracle of some sort, and it just seems like they keep getting knocked down, and they ultimately have had no rights throughout this entire ordeal."
Prominent Washington, DC, attorney Lisa Blatt will now join the legal team to represent Veronica, 3, and her adoptive parents in taking the case before the nation's high court.
9-24-2012 - Corrected statement re: when father regained custory