Justia columnist and U.C., Davis law professor Vikram David Amar comments on the recent Supreme Court ruling in the Clapper case, which raised the question whether Amnesty International USA and other plaintiffs had standing to go to court to challenge a law passed by Congress in 2008 that permits the federal government to undertake additional surveillance and information-gathering with respect to persons outside the United States. In a 5-4 ruling, the Court held that the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge that law; Amar explains the reasoning of the majority and that of the dissent, respectively.

Justia columnist and attorney Julie Hilden comments on a case in which an Atlanta teen, Alex Boston, is suing two of her classmates for libel, in connection with an instance of cyberbullying on Facebook. Hilden consider the pros and cons of using libel law to fight cyberbullying; suggests that there may be some weaknesses in Boston's case; and discusses the current legal uncertainty as to whether schools can punish off-campus speech that is related to the school, such as Facebook postings in which one student, or a group of students, bullies another student. With the Supreme Court so far silent on this issue, Boston and her parents invoked libel law, in lieu of a school punishment for the perpetrators. But Hilden questions whether, given the facts of the case, and given libel law's requirements, Boston's case can succeed. Hilden also provides some ideas for other teens who may seek to end the bullying that they suffer—including, if their parents do not support the filing of a lawsuit, and the case is extreme—possibly proceeding on their own with a guardian ad litem.

Justia columnist and Cardozo law professor Marci Hamilton comments on the situation unfolding in Hawaii with respect to the state's laws regarding statute of limitations for child sex abuse. As she explains, Hawaii's House and Senate each unanimously passed a bill that would create a two-year-long window of opportunity for child sex-abuse victims to file civil claims against their abusers, and against those who aided the abusers, even if the former statute of limitations had previously expired; and that would eliminate civil statutes of limitations entirely. But Hamilton – who has worked on the legislation with Sen. Maile Shimabukuro, abuse survivors, and others over the past year – notes that Hawaii governor Neil Abercrombie has issued a statement indicating that he will veto the bill. Hamilton takes strong issue with his reasons for doing so, and contends that he should change his mind.