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California Supreme Court Will Not Intervene #Lexi
in Case of Part-Native American Child Lexi Page
The
California Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that it would not get
involved in the Page family's fight to regain custody of 6-year-old
part-Native American girl Lexi, who was their foster child until
recently, ABC 7 reports.
According
to the network, the Page family's lawyer, Lori Alvino McGill, expected
the court's decision, but said it was a gamble she had to take, adding
that each day "without a stay threatens irreparable harm to the Pages
and Lexi."
Lexi, who is 1.5 percent Choctaw Native American, was removed from her foster family's home earlier this month after living with the family for 4 years. Following the emotional incident, Rusty and Summer Page vowed to do whatever they could to get the child back, as they have been trying to officially adopt her for some time.
Just one day after Lexi was taken from their custody, the family filed a request
to have their appeal heard by the state Supreme Court, after lower
courts had previously determined that removing the girl from the home
would not cause emotional harm.
Lexi's court-appointed legal
representative Leslie Starr Heimov, who works with the Children's Law
Center of California, told ABC that despite their sympathetic portrayal,
a court ruled three years ago that Lexi should be removed from the Page
family's custody.
"It was their litigation that prevented her from moving when she had only been with them for a year," she added.
Lexi
was removed from the Page family's home in compliance with the Indian
Child Welfare Act and placed with extended family in Utah where her
half-sister currently lives in the same house, and another sibling lives
down the street.
Although
the family members are not blood-related to Lexi, Heimov said in an
earlier statement that they "are not strangers in any way, shape or
form," as she has been in contact with them through messages and they've
made monthly visits with her for the past three years.
According
to ABC, the Pages have not been able to talk with Lexi, as promised,
since she was moved, but Heimov said that in time the young girl will be
able to maintain a relationship with the family and others who care
about her. However, she added that because the dispute has become so
public, where and how interactions will take place still need to be
determined.
[you cannot be part Indian... you are Indian regardless... Trace]
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