State v. Oyler

Davis, J.:

The defendant, Jimmie D. Oyler, Sr., appeals the forfeiture of cigarettes and money seized by the State of Kansas at the time of his arrest. He contends that the State of Kansas lacks civil jurisdiction to proceed with a forfeiture action because he is a Cherokee Indian and because his smokeshop is located on Indian land.

Jimmie D. Oyler, Sr., owns and operates Shawnee Jim’s Indian Country Smokeshop (Smokeshop) located in rural Johnson County, Kansas. Oyler is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation. The Smokeshop is on Shawnee Reserve 206 which Oyler claims is Indian land.

The…