The Virginia Supreme Court says judges cannot require a school board to allow a violent sex offender to enter school property. The justices unanimously ruled yesterday that the Virginia Constitution gives school boards control over school buildings and grounds. The court said a Charlottesville judge who lifted the ban for one sex offender overstepped his authority when he spelled out the type of school events the man would be allowed to attend.

A federal appeals court yesterday held that the federal civil commitment law for sex offenders was unconstitutional and that alleged victims of abuse at the hands of a former Somali official may sue him.