Megan's Law/Sex Offender Registration

Megan's Law is scheduled to expire in California at the end of this year. Legislators in Sacramento, and across the nation, are working to make it permanent. There is also a serious challenge to Megan's Law in the hands of the Supreme Court, with a decision expected any day. The challenge comes from a Connecticut man who says that his right of due process was violated when he was placed on the local Internet sex offender list. Megan's Law raises many questions: does it work? Does the right to know whether a sexual offender lives next door supercede the offender's right to privacy? What about due process? In these times of tight budgets, how can local police departments make sure that sex offenders register? Larry Mantle speaks with Michael Yamamoto, a criminal defense attorney and the Past President of California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, Diane Webb, a detective with the LAPD who worked on the sex offender registration unit before it was disbanded, Daniel Armagh, Director of Legal Education at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Washington, D.C., and Assemblywoman Nicole Parra, Democrat from California's 30th Assembly District. Ms. Parra chairs the Committee on Megan's Law and Sex Offender Registration.

Megan's Law is scheduled to expire in California at the end of this year. Legislators in Sacramento, and across the nation, are working to make it permanent. There is also a serious challenge to Megan's Law in the hands of the Supreme Court, with a decision expected any day. The challenge comes from a Connecticut man who says that his right of due process was violated when he was placed on the local Internet sex offender list. Megan's Law raises many questions: does it work? Does the right to know whether a sexual offender lives next door supercede the offender's right to privacy? What about due process? In these times of tight budgets, how can local police departments make sure that sex offenders register? Larry Mantle speaks with Michael Yamamoto, a criminal defense attorney and the Past President of California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, Diane Webb, a detective with the LAPD who worked on the sex offender registration unit before it was disbanded, Daniel Armagh, Director of Legal Education at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Washington, D.C., and Assemblywoman Nicole Parra, Democrat from California's 30th Assembly District. Ms. Parra chairs the Committee on Megan's Law and Sex Offender Registration.