¶ … Quandary of Prosecuting Edward Snowden
The source of law that controls the prosecution of Edward Snowden is both federal and international law. Because Snowden is an American citizen who sought asylum overseas, he is outside of the direct jurisdiction of the U.S. government. Still, the U.S. government is the entity that wants Snowden for his crimes. Snowden has not committed any crimes except for those that violated the U.S.
Snowden can be charged and arrested by a state law-enforcement officer if he commits some sort of crime in that particular state. However, the crimes that Snowden has become notorious for were not committed at a state level, but rather at the federal level. Those crimes must get prosecuted in a federal setting, since they were committed against the nation as a whole.
The crux of the matter with the Snowden issue is that he transgressed federal law for ethical reasons. The young man believed that American citizens were losing their right to privacy, which he in turn believed was a crime. In that respect he did not violate moral laws, or substantive ones either. He violated U.S. federal law, but his violation did not transgress substantive or moral laws.
The primary goals and purposes of the criminal justice system justify criminal action against Snowden primarily because the law he broke involves national security (Louis, 2014). Regardless of Snowden's personal compunctions towards or against what he ascertained in his work with the N.S.A., he still felt he had a right to preserve the integrity of national security. He viewed classified information and went public with it (Louis, 2014), so the purpose of criminal action against Snowden is to preserve national security. Conceivably, the reason Snowden should be prosecuted is because revealing this type of information to the public could possibly compromise security in this country.
References
Louis, E. (2014). Treachery and its consequences. The Economist. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2014/01/snowden-case-prosecution
This essay reviews the relevant literature to provide a background on Edward Snowden and how his high-profile actions adversely affected the work of the National Security Agency (NSA). An analysis of what the NSA was doing prior to the leaks and how it collects intelligence information now is followed by an examination concerning what Snowden leaked and why. Finally, a discussion concerning whether the U.S. government violated Snowden’s constitutional rights
Criminal Justice Edward Snowden Is Edward Snowden a hero or traitor? Is Edward Snowden a hero or traitor? Edward Snowden used to work as an intelligence contractor. Lately he leaked information about some security projects. The leaked information is about secret program carried out by NASA and is a massive surveillance program. Snowden believes that the tax money of people of America is a liability on government and government institutions and hence they have
Patriotism/Edward Snowden Intstitution: Edward Snowden, 30, well-known for his previous job as a contractor in the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), is presently living in Russia since his escape from the United States via Hong Kong, due to a revelation of extensive internet and phone surveillance carried out by U.S. intelligence. He used to live with his girlfriend in Hawaii, but after the revelation, initially left for Hong Kong, where his identity
PRISM- Edward Snowden PRISM PRISM, deployed by the NSA (National Security Agency) of United States, is a tool used for private electronic data gathering which belongs to the people who use leading internet services such as Gmail, Outlook, Facebook, etc. In the wake of 9/11, the latest effort made by the U.S. government for electronic surveillance is the development of PRISM, which initially started in the supremacy of President Bush with the
Technology and national security / privacy issues / Edward snowden The massive 9/11 attacks revealed some obvious flaws in our security system. Terrorists not only managed to slip through the immigration and airports but also managed to live, train and plan within the United States for many years. The resulting fear of other terrorist groups who might have been living and training in U.S. were justifiable. In this regard, congress came
Whistle Blowing Introduction and History of Whistle Blowing Whistle blowing is the revealing of immoral, illegal or illegitimate deeds to authorities. The authorities may be insiders or from outside the affected organization. Many cases of whistle blowing involve people revealing information to outsiders especially media organizations or pressure groups about an act they consider to be irresponsible, irregular or illegal (Robbins, 1993). Cases of whistle blowing have increased dramatically in the recent
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now