Winning couple in adoption case ask for expedited resolution

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A couple from South Carolina who this week won a custody battle at the U.S. Supreme Court over a girl they raised from birth asked the justices on Thursday to speed up the resolution of the case so they can see her again.

Under normal court procedure, a ruling does not go into effect for 25 days, but in this instance, Matt and Melanie Capobianco asked the court to allow them to seek custody of the girl from her biological father, Dusten Brown, immediately.

In the application filed with the court on Thursday, the couple's lawyers said they had "not seen or spoken" with Veronica for nearly 18 months and were "eager to resume the adoption process."

Although the Capobiancos raised the girl, Veronica, from birth, Brown has had custody since the end of 2011, when she was just over two years old.

After initially given up his parental rights, Brown, a member of the Cherokee Nation, managed to block the finalization of the couple's adoption by invoking the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978.

The Supreme Court said on Tuesday the law did not prevent his parental rights from being terminated.

The couple's application stated that Brown's attorney had not consented to the couple's request to expedite the order.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Howard Goller and Sandra Maler)