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Office of Justice Programs Innovation • Partnerships • Safe Neighborhoods

U.S. Department of JusticeOffice of Justice ProgramsSMART Office

Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act

(SORNA)

SMART OFFICE

Office of Justice Programs

Department of Justice



Learning Objectives• Describe basic requirements of SORNA;

• Identify timelines for implementation by states;

• Understand consequences for failure of states to implement;

• Understand responsibilities of SMART Office and assistance available to states; and

• Articulate pending cases interpreting SORNA.



The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006

Title I: Sex Offender Registration

and Notification Act (SORNA)

Purpose: To establish a comprehensive set of minimum standards for sex offender registration and notification and to facilitate information sharing between jurisdictions regarding sex offenders.



SORNANew Requirements

Tribal Registration Jurisdictions

Juvenile Registration

Tiering/Offense-based

Mandatory Penalty for Failure to Implement

Additional Registration Requirements

New Federal Criminal Offense for Failure to Register

Established the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART)



Three Tiers of Sex Offenders

• Tier I: Lowest Level. Catch-all covering all convictions for a “sex offense” not covered in Tiers II or III.

• Tier II: Mid-Level• Tier III: Highest-Level

42 USC 16911



Duration of Requirement

§ 16915. Duration of registration requirement

(a) Full registration period. . . .The full registration period is- (1) 15 years, if the offender is a Tier I sex offender; (2) 25 years, if the offender is a Tier II sex offender; and (3) the life of the offender, if the offender is a Tier III sex offender.



Reduction in Registration Requirement

• For a Tier I sex offender with a clean record for 10 years

– Reduction is from 15 years to 10 years

• For a Tier III juvenile adjucated delinquent with a clean record for 25 years

– Reduction is from life to 25 years



In-Person Verification

§ § 16916. Periodic in-person verification

A sex offender shall appear in person, allow the jurisdiction to take a current photograph, and verify the information in each registry in which that offender is required to be registered not less frequently than – (1) each year, if the offender is a Tier I sex offender; (2) every 6 months, if the offender is a Tier II sex offender; and (3) every 3 months, if the offender is a Tier III sex offender.



Required Information – to Collect• Criminal History• Date of Birth• DNA Sample• Driver’s License or

Identification Card• Employer Address• Fingerprints• Internet Identifiers• Name• Palm Prints• Passport and Immigration

Documents

• Phone Numbers• Photograph• Physical Description• Professional Licensing

Information• Resident Address• School Address• Social Security Number• Temporary Lodging

Information• Text of Registration Offense• Vehicle Information



Public Website Required Information

• Current Offense & Prior Sex Offenses• Employer address • Name• Photograph• Physical description• Resident Address• School address • Vehicle(s) license plate number and description



Mandatory Exemptions from Public Website

• Victim’s identity

• SS# of offender

• Arrests that did not result in conviction

• Passport and immigration identifiers

• Internet identifiers (KIDS Act)



Immediate Transmission of Information

• When an offender– Registers– Updates their registration– Indicates an intention to relocate

• Jurisdictions must immediately notify any other registration jurisdiction where that offender – Is required to register– Will be required to register



Retroactivity – Regulation

• Attorney General regulation dated February 2007 (28 CFR Part 72) confirmed the retroactive applicability of the SORNA requirements to all sex offenders, regardless of when they were convicted.



Retroactivity – Guidelines

• The Guidelines clarified that a jurisdiction will conform with SORNA if it brings the following offenders into compliance:– Incarcerated or under supervision

– Already registered or subject to pre-existing sex offender registration requirements

– Hereafter reenter the jurisdiction’s justice system because of conviction for some other crime



Juveniles

• SORNA will require registration for juveniles at least 14 years old at the time of the offense who are adjudicated delinquent for committing (or attempting or conspiring to commit) offenses under laws that cover:– Engaging in a sexual act with another by force or the threat

of serious violence (see 18 U.S.C. 2241(a)); or– Engaging in a sexual act with another by rendering

unconscious or involuntarily drugging the victim• “Sexual act” for this purpose should be understood to

include any degree of genital or anal penetration, and any oral-genital or oral-anal contact.



SORNA/SMART Office Timeline

SMART Office Opened: Dec. 2006Attorney General Regulation: Feb. 2007Final Guidelines: June 2008First Implementation Deadline: July 2009AG issued one-year blanket extension: May 2009First two jurisdictions implement SORNA: Sept. 2009

OhioConfederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation

Second Implementation Deadline: July 2010Final Implementation Deadline: July 2011



Consequences: Failure to Implement

• 10% annual reduction in Byrne Justice Assistance Grant funds

• Only the 60% state level money will be reduced• For tribes: If the AG determines that the tribe has

not substantially implemented the requirements of SORNA and is not likely to become capable of doing so within a reasonable amount of time, function delegated to the state.



Assisting Jurisdictions withSORNA Implementation

253 Registration Jurisdictions50 states5 territoriesDistrict of Columbia197 tribes

SMART Office is authorized to• administer standards set forth in SORNA• administer grant programs• provide technical assistance• perform other functions delegated by the Attorney

General



Assisting Jurisdictions with SORNA Implementation

Technical AssistanceTraining Presentations

Outreach to Jurisdictions

Indian Country Tools: Tribe & Territory Sex Offender Registry System (TTSORS), Model Code

Software Tools: Portal, Sex Offender Registry Tool (SORT)

Technical Working Group

Implementation Checklist

GetSMART

SORNA Case Law Update

FAQ’s, Fact Sheets, SMARTWatch



Grants

Adam Walsh Act Implementation (AWA)

2007 – $11.8M

2008 – $ 3.9M

2009 – $ 4.7M

National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW)

2007-2009 - $8.78M



Federal Sex Offender“Registries”

• NSOPW– National Sex Offender Public Website– www.nsopw.gov– SMART Office

• NSOR– National Sex Offender Registry– FBI/NCIC Folder



Residency Restrictions & GPS

• SORNA does not address these

• Most studies do not advocate for residency restrictions

• GPS has various issues in implementation and efficacy



International Working Group

• Entering and leaving the U.S.

• State Department

• DHS

• Department of Defense

• USMS – Sex Offender Targeting Center



Two Tracks of Litigation

• 18 U.S.C. § 2250

• State litigation



18 USC § 2250

• Commerce Clause

• Ex Post Facto

• Due Process

• 10th Amendment



Juvenile Male

• U.S. v. Juvenile Male– 2009 U.S. LEXIS 20164 (9th Cir. 2009)

– Federal Juvenile Delinquency Act– Tribal– Retroactive Application– Ex Post Facto violation



Carr v. U.S.

• 7th Circuit Case

• 18 USC § 2250

• Pending before the U.S. Supreme Court



State Litigation

• Nevada– Masto (pending before the Ninth Circuit)

• Alaska/Indiana/Maine– Ex Post Facto violations

• Ohio– Implementation litigation



Contact Us Any Time!

SMART Office

U.S. Department of Justice/OJP

202-514-4689

[email protected]