OKLAHOMA CITY, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- The Oklahoma Supreme Court blocked a county court order demanding a child's biological father immediately turn her over to her adoptive parents.
Dusten Brown, the father, has been fighting a South Carolina couple, Matt and Melanie Capobianco, over the custody of "Baby Veronica," 3, the Tulsa, Okla., World reported.
The child's birth mother put her up for adoption, and Brown, a member of the Cherokee Nation, has fought the adoption under the Indian Child Welfare Act.
The state's highest court blocked a Nowata County court order that Brown immediately turn over custody of the girl to the Capobiancos, issuing a stay following a hearing Friday.
A Supreme Court referee heard arguments in the case Tuesday and will issue a report to the full court, after which the court can follow the referee's recommendations or take other appropriate action, the newspaper said.
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