Kickapoo Tribal Court

Kansas Appellate Court Orders Resentencing of Kickapoo Tribal Member

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in State v. Horselooking:

State v Horselooking

An excerpt:

Alvin P. Horselooking, Jr., appeals his sentence following his convictions of aggravated battery and driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). The district court assigned Horselooking a criminal history score of B based in part on his Kickapoo Nation tribal conviction of residential burglary, which the district court scored as a person felony for criminal history purposes. However, the Kickapoo Nation Tribal Code does not designate burglary as being either a felony or a misdemeanor offense. As his sole issue on appeal, Horselooking claims the district court erred when it scored his prior Kickapoo tribal conviction as a felony for criminal history purposes. Because we agree with Horselooking’s claim, we vacate his sentence and remand for the district court to resentence Horselooking using the correct criminal history score.

Kickapoo Court Dismisses Charges against Tribal Elected Officials

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here is the news coverage.

An excerpt:

In her decision handed down on March 12, Judge Wahwassuck found:

1. The Plaintiffs (have) failed to carry their burden of establishing that the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas and/or its agents (the Defendants herein) have waived tribal sovereign immunity in this matter.

2. The Plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate that they have a “property” right to their positions on the Gaming Commission, and thus have failed to demonstrate that their due process rights under the Indian Civil Rights Act were violated.

With these findings and her conclusion of law that the Defendants action was protected from suit under the doctrine of sovereign immunity, the Defendant’s motion to dismiss was granted with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.