South Dakota

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.

SCOTUSBlog's Lyle Denniston reports that South Dakota's ban on same-sex marriage was struck down today. U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier applied the highest constitutional test--strict scrutiny--after finding that marriage is a fundamental right that must be open to gays and lesbians. The judge also rejected the argument that federal courts have no jurisdiction over domestic relations, Denniston further reports.