1. New Mexico:
SORNA and Current Laws
Lori McPherson
Senior Policy Advisor
SMART Office
202-353-3591
lori.mcpherson@usdoj.gov
Santa Fe, New Mexico
January 14, 2010

2. The SMART Office
Office of Sex Offender
Sentencing, Monitoring,
Apprehending, Registering, and
Tracking
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs

3. SORNA
• Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act
• Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and
Safety Act
• Passed July 27, 2006
• 42 U.S.C. § 16901 et. seq.
• 18 USC § 2250
• Designed to create a national set of standards
to eliminate loopholes and gaps in existing
registry systems

4. National Sex Offender ‘Registries’
• National Sex Offender Public Website
(NSOPW)
– Operated and maintained by the SMART
Office
– www.nsopw.gov
– Search Engine
• National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR)
– Operated and maintained by the FBI
– Subfolder of NCIC (ORI Number)
– Law Enforcement Only
– Actual Database

5. SORNA Categories
1. Immediate Transfer of Information
2. Included Offenses
3. Duration/Frequency of Registration
4. Required Registration Information
5. Initial Registration
6. Retroactive Application
7. In-Person Appearances
8. Public Registry Website
9. Community Notification

6. 1. Immediate Transfer of Information
• SORNA:
– Within 3 Days to any other jurisdiction
where the offender is required to register
• New Mexico:
– Compliance with NCIC/NSOR Audit
Standards will meet this requirement

7. 2. Included Offenses
• SORNA:
– State, Territory, Tribal, Federal, Military &
Foreign Sex Offenses
• New Mexico:
– Only misses foreign offenses

8. 3. Duration/Frequency of
Registration
• SORNA:
– 3 Tiers
• New Mexico:
– 2 Tiers
– See Tiering evaluation

9. Inclusion of Offenses &Tiering
• If New Mexico implemented SORNA
– 6 Offenses would be added
• 5 involving child sexual exploitation
• Video Voyeurism
– 2 Offenses would rise from 10 years to 15
– 1 Offense would rise from 10 years to 25
– 4 Offenses would drop from life to 25 years
– 4 Offenses would drop from life to 15 years

10. 4. Required Registration
Information
• SORNA:
– 22 items required
• New Mexico:
– Registers 18 of them

11. 5. Initial Registration
• SORNA:
– Within 3 Days
• New Mexico:
– Within 10 Days

12. 6. Retroactive Application
• SORNA:
– Retroactive
• New Mexico:
– Retroactive (State v. Druktenis, 135 N.M.
223 (Ct. App. 2004))

13. 7. In-Person Appearances
• SORNA:
– Regular check-ins
– Certain information for immediate updating
• New Mexico:
– Regular check-ins
– Immediate updating may be done in writing

14. 8. Public Registry Website
• SORNA:
– All sex offenders except:
• Juveniles adjudicated delinquent
• Misdemeanor offenses with adult victims
• New Mexico:
– Only 5 sex offenses require posting

15. 9. Community Notification
• Law Enforcement
– NSOR
– Probation/Parole
• General Public
– Day care agencies
– Schools
– Any interested party

16. 9. Community Notification
• SORNA:
– On all sex offenders displayed on public
website (generally)
– No distance limit for updates
• New Mexico:
– Only for those convicted of 5 sex offenses
– email notification enabled

17. New Mexico’s Main Issues
1. Tiering
• Could balance out numerically once done
2. Timing of registration
• Tighten up from 10 to 3 days, or more if
necessary for practical reasons
3. Posting of registrants on website
• To enable community notification
functions

18. Contact Us Any Time!
SMART Office
U.S. Department of Justice/OJP
202-514-4689
getsmart@usdoj.gov
www.ojp.gov/smart