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Name: In re D.W.
Case #: C065694
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 3 DCA
Opinion Date: 03/09/2011
Summary

ICWA notice was adequate despite misspelling of name. Father contended in an appeal from parental rights termination that the juvenile court erred when it found that ICWA did not apply, because the notice to the three Cherokee tribes and the BIA misspelled paternal grandmother’s first name, and failed to include her middle name. The notice identified grandmother as “Maryanne” R., and her name was actually Marianne Francis R. The appellate court rejected the argument and affirmed. It held that father did not show that the inclusion of a misspelled first name could thwart a search that included her correct last name, birth date and place. Any error could not have been prejudicial.