Hawaii: Supreme Court Shuts Down Sex Offender Registry.

December 3, 2001

Hawaii: Sex Offender Registry Violates Due Process, Hawaii High Court Rules

Hawaii's version of "Megan's Law" -- a statute requiring convicted sex offenders to register with local law enforcement authorities -- violates state constitutional guarantees of procedural due process, the Hawaii Supreme Court held Nov. 21. State v. Bani, No. 22196.

The court said the law's registration requirement alone did not impose on any protected liberty interests, but found the state could not disseminate registration information to the public without providing the offender an opportunity to argue that public notification was unnecessary or that limited notification would be more appropriate.

Aside from damage to his reputation, the offender also risked erroneous deprivation of tangible interests, the court said.

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Source: © 2001 The National Law Journal