142 N.J. 1, 662 A.2d 367 (1995)
The original Megan’s Law survives — but community notification requires a chance for judicial review first.
Good law. Still followed. Later cases may have narrowed it — see Scope. Final word on that state’s own law and constitution — in that state only.
New Jersey enacted Megan’s Law, its Registration and Community Notification Laws, effective October 31, 1994, months after the murder of seven-year-old Megan Kanka. A registrant proceeding as “John Doe” challenged both laws on their face.
The court upheld registration and notification as remedial, not punitive, so they survived ex post facto, double jeopardy, equal protection and due process challenges. But because notification implicates protected privacy and liberty interests, the court required judicial review before any Tier 2 or Tier 3 notification, and limited that notice to people likely to encounter the registrant.
Poritz is the case that let Megan’s Law — and the national model it inspired — go forward. Its requirement of a hearing before wider notification is why New Jersey still runs tier hearings in court, unlike states where tier follows from the offense alone.
It did not address posting the registry on the internet, which came later. The detailed procedure for those hearings was set by a separate court order.
Last verified against the sources above on September 30, 2026.
These are plain-language summaries of court decisions, written for general education. A ruling binds only the courts beneath the court that issued it, later decisions and new laws can change what it means, and how it applies to any one person depends on facts a summary cannot capture. Read the opinion itself, and talk to a lawyer licensed in your state before relying on any case. This page is not legal advice.