John Hogner v. State of Oklahoma

¶1 Appellant Travis John Hogner was charged and tried by jury for Feloniously Pointing a Firearm (21 O.S.Supp.2012, § 1289.16) or in the alternative Domestic Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (21 O.S.Supp.2014, § 644) (Count I); Possession of a Firearm, After Former Conviction of a Felony (21 O.S. Supp.2014, § 1283) (Counts II and III); Kidnapping (21 O.S.Supp.2012, § 751 (Count V); Interference with Emergency Telephone Call, misdemeanor (21 O.S.2011, § 1211.1) (Count VIII); and Domestic Assault and Battery, Second or Subsequent Offense (21 O.S.Supp.2014, § 644) (Count IX), all felonies were After Former Conviction of Two or More Felonies, in the District Court of Craig County, Case No. CF-2015-263.2 In the first stage of trial, the jury found Appellant not guilty in Counts I, V, VIII, and IX. In the second stage of trial, the jury found Appellant guilty in Count II but not guilty in Count III. In the third stage of trial, the jury found Appellant guilty of two or more prior felony convictions and recommended a sentence of fifty (50) years imprisonment. The Honorable H.M. Wyatt, III, Associate District Judge, sentenced Appellant in accordance with the jury's recommendation.3



¶2 In Proposition I, Appellant claims the District Court lacked jurisdiction to try him. Appellant argues that he is a citizen of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and the crime occurred within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation.



¶3 Pursuant to McGirt v. Oklahoma, 140 S.Ct. 2452 (2020) Appellant's claim raises two separate questions: (a) his Indian status and (b) whether the crime occurred in Indian Country. These issues require fact-finding.



* * *



¶18 Based upon the record before us, the District Court's Order is supported by the evidence presented at the evidentiary hearing. We therefore find Appellant has met his burden of establishing his status as an Indian, having ¼ degree Indian blood and being a member of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma on the date of the crime. We also find the District Court appropriately applied McGirt to determine that Congress did establish a Cherokee Reservation and that no evidence was presented showing that Congress explicitly erased or disestablished the boundaries of the Cherokee Reservation or that the State of Oklahoma had jurisdiction in this matter. We find the State of Oklahoma did not have jurisdiction to prosecute Appellant in this matter. The Judgments and Sentences in this case are hereby reversed and the case remanded to the District Court of Craig County with instructions to dismiss the case.4

¶19 The JUDGMENTS and SENTENCES are REVERSED AND REMANDED with instructions to Dismiss. The MANDATE is not to be issued until twenty (20) days from the delivery and filing of this decision.5