"The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Wednesday that states may put pictures of convicted sex offenders on the Internet, a victory for states that use the Web to warn of potential predators in neighborhoods. In a separate narrow ruling, the court turned back a challenge from offenders who argued they deserved a chance to prove they aren't dangerous to avoid having their pictures and addresses put on the Internet."

"The decisions came in the Supreme Court's first review of what are known as Megan's laws - and have far-reaching implications because every state and the federal government have sex-offender registry laws."

The cases are Connecticut Department of Public Safety v. John Doe, 01-1231, and Otte v. Doe, 01-729. The opinions are available here.

The Connecticut case (9-0 ruling) leaves open a door for a future challenge as it "did not address the constitutionality of requiring offenders to register without holding separate hearings to determine the risk posed by sex criminals who have completed their prison sentences before putting them in a registry."