Police can’t demand you reveal your phone passcode then tell a jury you refused
1–10 of 615 posts
Re: Police can’t demand you reveal your phone passcode then tell a jury you refused
#2Claim the EFF, but headline statement is not an assertion that has held up in court.
Re: Police can’t demand you reveal your phone passcode then tell a jury you refused
#3Claim the EFF, but headline statement is not an assertion that has held up in court.
Seems to have held up in the Utah court of appeals:
“Instead, during trial, the prosecution offered testimony and argument about his refusal. The defense argued that this violated the defendant’s Fifth Amendment right to remain silent, which also prevents the state from commenting on his silence. The court of appeals agreed, and now the state has appealed to the Utah Supreme Court.”
In that text, “prevents the state from commenting on his silence” is a link to https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/380/609/
Re: Police can’t demand you reveal your phone passcode then tell a jury you refused
#4Claim the EFF, but headline statement is not an assertion that has held up in court.
So far it has held up in the court of appeals, but there's another hearing upcoming.
Note that a defendant is in a much stronger position if they have maintained complete silence even before the password is requested - you can't just clam up halfway through a conversation.
Re: Police can’t demand you reveal your phone passcode then tell a jury you refused
#5Hmmmm... I was under the impression this was already the case. I remember reading about this a while ago when I was learning that they can force you to provide a fingerprint or face-scan.
Re: Police can’t demand you reveal your phone passcode then tell a jury you refused
#6Claim the EFF, but headline statement is not an assertion that has held up in court.
Seems to have held up in the Utah court of appeals: “Instead, during trial, the prosecution offered testimony and argument about his refusal. The defense argued that this violated the defendant’s Fifth Amendment right to remain silent, which also prevents the state from commenting on his silence. The court of appeals agreed, and now the state has appealed to the Utah Supreme Court.” In that text, “prevents the state…
Fair point. It has held up in a single state court of appeals, so I was definitely wrong about this being without substance on appeal, but the jurisdiction of the ruling is quite small and I am unaware of anything federal backing the claims being made.
Re: Police can’t demand you reveal your phone passcode then tell a jury you refused
#7Hmmmm... I was under the impression this was already the case. I remember reading about this a while ago when I was learning that they can force you to provide a fingerprint or face-scan.
Not having to reveal the passcode has been the rule for a while.
Not being allowed to bring that refusal up as evidence of guilt on Fifth Amendment grounds during the trial is new. (And correct.)
Re: Police can’t demand you reveal your phone passcode then tell a jury you refused
#8Claim the EFF, but headline statement is not an assertion that has held up in court.
So far it has held up in the court of appeals, but there's another hearing upcoming. Note that a defendant is in a much stronger position if they have maintained complete silence even before the password is requested - you can't just clam up halfway through a conversation.
> you can't just clam up halfway through a conversation.
You certainly can.
Re: Police can’t demand you reveal your phone passcode then tell a jury you refused
#9Hmmmm... I was under the impression this was already the case. I remember reading about this a while ago when I was learning that they can force you to provide a fingerprint or face-scan.
Not having to reveal the passcode has been the rule for a while. Not being allowed to bring that refusal up as evidence of guilt on Fifth Amendment grounds during the trial is new. (And correct.)
Why? You have a right to carry a licensed gun to a scene where a murder happens, and scream insults at the the (soon to be) victim, but the prosecution is allowd in to mention that at trial.
Re: Police can’t demand you reveal your phone passcode then tell a jury you refused
#10But wait, does this say that another court order can compel you to unlock it anyways?
That doesn't seem logical at all.