Home

Learn more

Northern Essex Community College

Module 14 Discussion Activity

Review the discussion overview, learning objectives, prompt, and participation expectations before posting.

Overview

Criminal law includes offenses designed to protect national security, classified information, and government operations. These crimes focus on unauthorized access, disclosure, and transmission of protected information, regardless of whether the defendant claims moral justification. Courts evaluate such cases by examining statutory authority, intent, and the nature of the information involved.

In this activity, you will analyze a real world national security case by applying criminal statutes to known facts. You will identify applicable charges, explain their elements, and distinguish between legally supported and unsupported offenses. This exercise emphasizes objective statutory analysis and reinforces the principle that criminal liability is determined by law, not motive.

Learning Objectives

(These are not the questions to be answered. Please review and answer the Discussion Topic(s).)

  • LO1: Identify and explain criminal offenses related to national security and unauthorized disclosure of information. (SLO1)
  • LO2: Apply statutory elements to a real world factual scenario in order to justify charging decisions and exclude unsupported offenses. (SLO4)
Discussion Topic(s)
Edward Snowden disclosed classified government information without authorization while employed as a government contractor. These disclosures involved classified materials related to national security programs and were later released to the public and foreign entities.
Applying only criminal law principles and statutory elements discussed in this week’s readings, and avoiding political or moral arguments, answer the following:
  1. Identify the specific criminal charges that could be brought against Edward Snowden based on his conduct.
  2. For each charge, identify and explain the required legal elements and how the known facts satisfy those elements.
  3. Identify at least one charge discussed in this week’s readings that would not apply, and explain why the elements are not met.
  4. Briefly discuss whether intent or motive affects criminal liability in this context.
Your analysis should focus strictly on criminal statutes, elements, and legal reasoning, not personal views about whistleblowing or government policy.
Acceptable and Ethical Use of AI
  • Use AI to summarize the legal elements of national security related offenses discussed in this week’s readings to support your understanding before writing your response.
  • Use AI to help distinguish between criminal liability and moral or political arguments, without using AI to write your discussion post.
Directions

Please read all instructions carefully before participating in the discussion.

  • Students must complete one Main Post that answers the discussion topic using more than 250 words.
  • Students must reply to at least two of their classmates (Peer Responses) using at least 150 words. Responses should encourage further dialogue in the discussion forum. Asking a classmate, a question is a nice way of furthering that dialogue.
  • Students must first compose an original Main Post to gain access to the discussion forum. Attempts to post a blank initial post or anything other than the true Main post will result in a 20-point deduction.
Important Reminder

Important: Submitting incomplete or placeholder responses may result in a grade deduction based on course policies.