Appellate Win: Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals confirms SORA registration is not a “simple embarrassment”

Yet another win on appeal for attorney Michael A. Risley, this time from the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals: Nichlos v. State of Oklahoma, 2025 OK CIV APP 35.

The case started in Duncan, in Stephens County. After registering successfully as a Level 1 offender for thirteen years with no new arrests or convictions, our client requested early removal from the Sex Offender Registry. The Stephens County District Attorney objected. After a hearing on the matter, the Honorable G. Brent Russell sustained the District Attorney’s objection, finding that sex offender registration is a “simple embarrassment”, despite the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s extensive findings to the contrary in Starkey v. Oklahoma. Dept. of Corrections, 2013 OK 43, ¶46-75, 305 P.3d 1004.

The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals disagreed, finding that the trial court’s orders lacked sufficient findings to sustain the ruling; and that under Starkey, sex offender registration is not simply an embarrassment. The Court of Civil Appeals then provided much needed guidance in evaluating Level 1 deregistration claims, advising that trial courts must now consider: (a) the underlying offense that led to the conviction, (b) any continuation of illegal behavior, and (c) the balance between the negative effects of registration on a deregistration petitioner vs. the public safety benefit of continued registration.

On remand, the deregistration was granted, over the District Attorney’s continued objection.

If you’re a Level 1 offender, who has registered for more than 10 years without any new arrests or convictions, get in touch and let the experts help.