Judge Rules American Indian Parental Rights Violated in Family Court System

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Viken of South Dakota has ruled that the state Department of Social Services has been violating the rights of American Indian parents when removing their children into the foster-care system, NPR's Laura Sullivan reports. Hearings over the termination of parental rights and custody rights have been short as a minute, parents have not been allowed to speak during some hearings, and Native children have been placed largely in the homes of whites. 

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of the Oglala Sioux and Rosebud Sioux tribes.