Jad Abumrad (host) / main Radiolab host voice

So that's as narrow as you can get, probably.

Yeah.

But I mean, what happens now when the case, where does the case go from here?

Well, the Supreme Court kicked it back down to a lower court where you'd expect that they'd just award the Capobiancos custody.

And that's what this guy said.

This is Tajinder Singh.

He's a contributor at SCOTUSblog.

So the case goes to the South Carolina Supreme Court.

Possibly, yeah.

But Marcia says that there's a chance that it might not go that way.

This is where it gets complicated.

So because the Supreme Court said that ICWA still stands, it's still law, and they said that Veronica is an Indian child, she's Cherokee,

That means that the South Carolina Supreme Court could decide that she is still covered by the Indian Child Welfare Act.

You remember the placement preferences?

Yeah.

If the court decides that this is still an ICWA case, then those preferences would kick in.

This is Salangel.

So in an equal case, the first preference is extended family.

Second preference?

Third preference?