## Facts

- Cass County filed a state juvenile court petition in March 2001 seeking foster-care placement of A.B., an “Indian child” under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).
- After roughly a year of foster-care proceedings, the county filed a petition in June 2002 to terminate the parents’ rights.
- About seven weeks after the termination petition—and about two weeks before the scheduled trial—the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians moved under ICWA to transfer jurisdiction to tribal court.
- A juvenile court referee denied the transfer, finding good cause because the matter had reached an advanced stage and the Tribe did not seek transfer promptly after receiving notice of the earlier foster-care proceedings.
- On review, a juvenile court judge reversed the referee, treated the termination case as the relevant proceeding for timeliness, granted transfer to tribal court, and dismissed the termination petition.
- Cass County appealed the transfer and dismissal order.

## Issues

1. Whether ICWA required transfer to tribal court, or whether “good cause to the contrary” existed because the transfer request came at an advanced stage after substantial state-court proceedings and was not promptly filed after notice.
2. Whether the juvenile court judge could properly reverse the referee’s decision on review without having the transcript of the referee hearing.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of North Dakota held that good cause existed under ICWA to deny transfer and reinstated the referee’s order denying the Tribe’s motion.
- The court vacated the juvenile court’s order transferring the matter to tribal court and dismissing the termination petition.
- The court held the juvenile court judge erred by reversing the referee without an adequate record, including the hearing transcript.
- The case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with the opinion.

## Legal Principles

- Under 25 U.S.C. § 1911(b), a state court must transfer an eligible Indian child custody proceeding to tribal court upon a proper petition unless good cause to the contrary is shown.
- Good cause to deny transfer may be found when (1) the proceeding is at an advanced stage when the petition is received and (2) the petition was not promptly filed after the tribe received notice.
- For ICWA timeliness and “advanced stage” analysis, a foster-care proceeding followed by a termination petition may be treated as a continuation of the same child-placement matter rather than separate proceedings.
- When a juvenile court judge reviews and reverses a referee’s factual determinations, meaningful review requires an adequate record; reversing without the transcript is improper, particularly where credibility and conflicting evidence are implicated.

## Conclusion

The North Dakota Supreme Court vacated the order transferring jurisdiction to tribal court and reinstated the referee’s denial of transfer, holding that the Tribe’s late request in an advanced-stage case constituted good cause to deny transfer under ICWA and that the juvenile court erred by reversing the referee without a transcript record.


In re A.B., 663 N.W.2d 625 (N.D. 2003)