COLUMBUS — A man labeled a sex offender without a hearing under the state Megan's Law said he was denied his constitutional right to confront his accusers. The case goes before the Ohio Supreme Court today.

        It is the latest challenge to portions of the law that requires convicted sex offenders to register with local authorities. A ruling is expected by summer. Three earlier decisions upheld the law.

        The 1997 Ohio law is modeled after a New Jersey law named for a 7-year-old girl raped and murdered by a convicted sex offender living in her neighborhood.

        Robert Hayden, convicted of attempted rape in 1984, was deemed a sexually oriented offender by a Montgomery County judge in 1999.

        Mr. Hayden appealed his designation, arguing that because the judge did not hold a hearing, he was denied U.S. and Ohio constitutional guarantees of due process, including confronting and questioning his accusers.

        In September 2000, the 2nd Ohio District Court of Appeals in Dayton ruled 2-1 in Mr. Hayden's favor. Mr. Hayden, 43, is in Chillicothe Correctional Institution serving time on an unrelated rape conviction.

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