Luster v. State ex rel. Department of Corrections

Summary

The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals addresses whether amendments to Oklahoma's Sex Offender Registration Act, including a three-tier registration system and modified verification requirements, may be applied retroactively to offenders convicted or subject to registration before the amendments took effect. Relying on Starkey and Cerniglia, the court holds that the applicable registration provisions are those in effect when an offender was convicted in Oklahoma or entered Oklahoma and became subject to registration. The court affirms in part, reverses the blanket one-year verification requirement, and remands for individualized determinations.

Holdings

1. SORA legislative enactments and amendments cannot be applied retroactively to the consolidated plaintiffs; the applicable version is the version in effect when an offender convicted in Oklahoma was convicted or when an offender convicted elsewhere entered Oklahoma and became subject to SORA.
2. The frequency of SORA verification is governed by the version of SORA in effect when the offender was convicted in Oklahoma or entered Oklahoma and became subject to registration; the trial court erred by imposing a blanket one-year verification frequency.

Questions Presented

1. Whether amendments to SORA enacted after a sex offender's conviction or entry into Oklahoma may be applied retroactively.
2. Whether the trial court properly imposed a blanket one-year address-verification frequency on consolidated plaintiffs who remained subject to registration.
3. Whether the applicable SORA registration requirements are those in effect when an Oklahoma conviction occurs or when an out-of-state offender enters Oklahoma and becomes subject to registration.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded