| Hawaii Megan's
Law and Victim's Rights
On November 21, 2001, the Hawaii Supreme Court struck down Hawaii's sex
offender registration law as unconstitutional. Eto Bani, who pleaded no contest
to sexual assault in the fourth degree contended the statute violated his
constitutional right to procedural due process, his constitutional right to
privacy, prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, and right to equal
protection of the law.
The opinion by Associate Justice Mario Ramil said Bani's right to due process
was violated: "The absence of any procedural safeguards in the public
notification provision of (the law) renders the statute unconstitutional, void
and unenforceable."
"These are people who already paid a debt to society," said Brent White,
legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union. Based on the ruling, the
state is no longer allowed to give notice to the community on whether a person
is a sex offender. The Hawaii Sex Offenders registry contains more than 2,100 names.
From August 2000 to January 2001, the Hawaii Sex Offenders Web site received 2.5 million
"hits."
Email Governor Ben Cayetano (gov@gov.state.hi.us). |
