U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
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Sex Offender Registration
and Notification Act
(SORNA)
SMART OFFICE
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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.
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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.
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SORNA
New 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)
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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Required Information – to Collect
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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
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Phone Numbers
Photograph
Physical Description
Professional Licensing
Information
Resident Address
School Address
Social Security Number
Temporary Lodging
Information
Text of Registration
Offense
Vehicle Information
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Public Website Required Information
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Current Offense & Prior Sex Offenses
Employer address
Name
Photograph
Physical description
Resident Address
School address
Vehicle(s) license plate number and description
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Mandatory Exemptions from
Public Website
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Victim’s identity
SS# of offender
Arrests that did not result in conviction
Passport and immigration identifiers
Internet identifiers (KIDS Act)
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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SORNA/SMART Office Timeline
SMART Office Opened:
Dec. 2006
Attorney General Regulation:
Feb. 2007
Final Guidelines:
June 2008
First Implementation Deadline:
July 2009
AG issued one-year blanket extension:
May 2009
First two jurisdictions implement SORNA:
Sept. 2009
Ohio
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation
Second Implementation Deadline:
July 2010
Final Implementation Deadline:
July 2011
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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.
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Assisting Jurisdictions with
SORNA Implementation
253 Registration Jurisdictions
50 states
5 territories
District of Columbia
197 tribes
SMART Office is authorized to
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administer standards set forth in SORNA
administer grant programs
provide technical assistance
perform other functions delegated by the Attorney
General
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Assisting Jurisdictions with
SORNA Implementation
Technical Assistance
Training 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
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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
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Federal Sex Offender
“Registries”
• NSOPW
– National Sex Offender Public Website
– www.nsopw.gov
– SMART Office
• NSOR
– National Sex Offender Registry
– FBI/NCIC Folder
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Residency Restrictions & GPS
• SORNA does not address these
• Most studies do not advocate for
residency restrictions
• GPS has various issues in
implementation and efficacy
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International Working Group
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Entering and leaving the U.S.
State Department
DHS
Department of Defense
USMS – Sex Offender Targeting Center
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Two Tracks of Litigation
• 18 U.S.C. § 2250
• State litigation
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18 USC § 2250
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Commerce Clause
Ex Post Facto
Due Process
10th Amendment
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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
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Carr v. U.S.
• 7th Circuit Case
• 18 USC § 2250
• Pending before the U.S. Supreme Court
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State Litigation
• Nevada
– Masto (pending before the Ninth Circuit)
• Alaska/Indiana/Maine
– Ex Post Facto violations
• Ohio
– Implementation litigation
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Contact Us Any Time!
SMART Office
U.S. Department of Justice/OJP
202-514-4689
getsmart@usdoj.gov
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