Girls' arrests in Florida bullying case may mark turning point

Girls' arrests in Florida bullying case may mark turning point

By Ralph Vartabedian at the LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-bully-laws-20131018,0,1301513,full.story

"SNIP.............................


"Obviously, this had progressed from bullying to stalking," Judd said. "It is a repeated term of harassment that causes emotional distress."

...

In taking a tough stand, Judd has electrified the growing movement that wants to sharpen the battle against malicious juvenile bullying, which has expanded and intensified in the era of social media.

Even before the arrests, Florida had become a national trendsetter in 2004 when it passed a major cyber bullying amendment to its criminal code, a law that spurred other states to follow suit.

States across the nation have a mix of strong and weak laws, unrelated apparently to partisan politics, urbanization or wealth. Texas and Wyoming, along with Florida, are conservative states with strong laws, as are liberal states such as Massachusetts, New Jersey and Maryland. At the same time, California shares relatively weak laws with Mississippi, Minnesota and Nevada.


............................SNIP"