Norm Pattis’ column is a great addition to your paper. I don’t always agree with him but his intelligent discussion of legal topics makes you think about and see arguments from a side you don’t normally consider.
I do have to wonder about his view of Edward Snowden's and Bradley Manning’s acts of releasing secret documents to the press. Were they acts of civil disobedience or treason? I would guess both men swore an oath to keep secret what information passed through their hands. Do oaths, whether it be some low level information technology guy or a general in charge of the National Security Agency, really mean nothing as long as the person crosses their fingers?
I wonder if Mr. Pattis would consider it just an act of civil disobedience if one of his legal secretaries, because she feared for the public’s safety, released confidential information about a person Mr. Pattis was defending? It is one thing to walk away from a job because you don’t like what you or your employer is doing. It is a completely different thing if you break an oath you took to get that job.
Jeff Osborn
 Orange