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TrueCrypt User Held in Contempt of Court
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Re: TrueCrypt User Held in Contempt of Court
#52I have encrypted files/volumes that I don't remember the password for (it has been far too long). Surely not remembering is a valid defense.
Interesting point. I was thinking of the exact same thing. I cringe to the idea that such a defense might lead to some creative rubber-hose cryptanalysis though. The way I see it, this guy is half-way there. I wish I could help him.
Re: TrueCrypt User Held in Contempt of Court
#53Depending on what's on the drive, obstruction of justice might carry a much less onerous penalty than what he'd otherwise be facing. For instance, if it's child porn, he'd be labeled a sexual predator for life. If it's state secrets, he'd be facing treason and espionage charges. If it's mp3s.. financial ruin on top of the felony charge..
Aren't there statutes against forced self-incrimination by the court? I am definitely not a lawyer.
I'm not one either, but laws against self-incrimination do not mean you can withhold/destroy evidence.
Re: TrueCrypt User Held in Contempt of Court
#54The author references a previous letter that describes what he's doing in jail. Can anyone find that?
I can't find anything either, and the fact that he doesn't include that in the letter sort of implies that it's something that'd immediately lose him any sympathy or backing, doesn't it?
Three things:
First, the guy could be accused of choking babies to death with child porn and that wouldn't make a damn bit of difference as far as his, and the rest of our, fundamental rights are concerned.
Second, accused (or even indicted) is absolutely different than convicted, which itself bears an indirect relationship to 'true'.
Third, courts typically don't post private proceedings on the internet - you'd be amazed how many things you wouldn't be able to "find anything" about via a google search. If he's being held for contempt in relation to a case that he's not actually a defendant in, I imagine it'd be really bloody difficult to find a whole lot about that online, and in either case I can't imagine any sane lawyer giving him the green light to post on the internet details about a case for which he's already being held in contempt.
But by all means, don't let me stop you from impugning the integrity of a man you admit to knowing nothing at all about.
Re: TrueCrypt User Held in Contempt of Court
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
Searching for all posts by Bella1 that contain "Matthew", "jail", or "letter" doesn't find a previous letter. The closest thing is this post that provides case information (such as the case number, etc): http://forums.truecrypt.org/viewtopic.php?p=94607#94607
I tried looking up the case number in PACER ( http://www.pacer.gov/ ) but when I went to register I saw that they charge 8 cents for every page returned, that is every page of a document clicked on as well as every page linked to in a search result. Transparency comes with a price tag these days I guess.
If it was prohibitively expensive for you to view (as it is for me), it's not really transparent, is it?
Re: TrueCrypt User Held in Contempt of Court
#56Earlier quoted context omitted.
Its a criminal case.,..which basically means if he judge requests a document that is encrypted on a hd than defendant cannot refuse or they are in contempt
i don't get it. Is "you have the right to remain silent" limited only to oral means of communication? Or does it include the right to remain silent with respect to any means of communication, including writing, keyboard typing, sign language gesturing, etc ...?
"the right to remain silent..." etc is the Miranda Act which applies when you are taken into custody but before you have been formally charged with a crime. It really just boils down to not having to say anything to the police without legal representation present. That no longer applies since he is now before a court and we can assume he has legal representation (or he was offered it and has refused).
To answer your question directly: No, it applies to all methods of communication.
Re: TrueCrypt User Held in Contempt of Court
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
Fifth amendment and encryption issues are already worked out. Just like you can be compelled to open a safe, you can be compelled to decrypt a volume. A self-destroying drive would likely get you a conviction for obstructing justice, just like shredding the contents of a safe would.
A safe is obviously a safe. It obviously contains something. Encrypted data isn't so clear cut. It's trivial to make a datastore that has several encryption keys, so that you could give out one key, and it'd "decrypt" to some boring stuff, whilst keeping the real data, and the alternate key, secret. It'd also be trivial to devise a decryption algorithm, and key, which "decrypts" anyones hard drive to reveal illegal i…
A safe is obviously a safe. It obviously contains something.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mystery_of_Al_Capone%27s_Va...
Re: TrueCrypt User Held in Contempt of Court
#58I have encrypted files/volumes that I don't remember the password for (it has been far too long). Surely not remembering is a valid defense.
The more interesting point is that he may not be using a password in the first place; TrueCrypt can do arbitrary keyfiles. Someone found[1] a post elsewhere on the forum citing a subpoena that required someone to "type the passwords or pass phrases necessary to produce the encrypted contents of drives". If that quote is from the same case, he may be physically incapable of carrying out the subpoena as ordered.
Re: TrueCrypt User Held in Contempt of Court
#59Depending on what's on the drive, obstruction of justice might carry a much less onerous penalty than what he'd otherwise be facing. For instance, if it's child porn, he'd be labeled a sexual predator for life. If it's state secrets, he'd be facing treason and espionage charges. If it's mp3s.. financial ruin on top of the felony charge..
Aren't there statutes against forced self-incrimination by the court? I am definitely not a lawyer.
ptomato's and jgmmo's answers are both right (I think), but seem a little contradictory. If I can be compelled to provide physical evidence, why can't I be compelled to provide mental evidence, e.g. testimony about my crime?
Re: TrueCrypt User Held in Contempt of Court
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
Searching for all posts by Bella1 that contain "Matthew", "jail", or "letter" doesn't find a previous letter. The closest thing is this post that provides case information (such as the case number, etc): http://forums.truecrypt.org/viewtopic.php?p=94607#94607
I tried looking up the case number in PACER ( http://www.pacer.gov/ ) but when I went to register I saw that they charge 8 cents for every page returned, that is every page of a document clicked on as well as every page linked to in a search result. Transparency comes with a price tag these days I guess.
The Judicial Conference waives fees if they amount to less than $10 in a quarter, I believe. So you get 125 pages free. Be aware that search results do count as a page, though.