SUPREME COURT BACKS MEGAN’S LAWS (Rules states can give public information on sex offenders)

The Supreme Court yesterday strongly backed so-called Megan's Laws, which provide the public with information about potential sexual predators, ruling in two cases that they do not violate the individual rights of convicted sex offenders.  The court ruled 9-0 that Connecticut may publish names, pictures and other information about convicted sex offenders on the Internet without giving each offender a hearing to determine whether he or she is still dangerous.  And by a vote of 6-3, the court ruled that Alaska's law creates a civil regulatory system to protect public safety, not an additional punishment on top of the sentences that ex-offenders have already served.