Court affirms Megan's laws: Connecticut Dept. of Public Safety v. Doe, and Smith v. Doe

In two rulings interpreting what are commonly known as Megan's Laws, the U.S. Supreme Court strongly supported the dissemination of truthful information, turning back claims by civil libertarians on behalf of convicted sex offenders.

In a Connecticut case, the court voted 9-0 that the state could publish on the Internet names, pictures and other information about sex offenders, even without holding a hearing on whether the offender was still dangerous.

The court voted 6-3 in a case from Alaska that publishing the information protected the public safety and did not amount to punishment beyond the offender's original sentence.

"Our system does not treat dissemination of truthful information in furtherance of a legitimate governmental objective as punishment, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority in the Alaska case.