Courts in the United States have not decided whether the police can require a password from a smartphone
The defendants refused to issue a combination, citing poor memory. But one was released, and the second was given six months in prison.
Christopher Wheeler. Photo by David Ovalle / Miami Herald
In 2014, the District Court of Virginia ruled that smartphone passwords fall under the fifth amendment of the US Constitution. According to her, everything that the accused will say can be used against him. Because of this, the police can not force a person to call a password to unlock a smartphone.
However, in 2016, the Florida State Court approved the opposite: the convict was forced to give a password, acknowledging that he was not under the protection of the Constitution.
At the end of May 2017, two different courts in Florida again issued opposite decisions: the defendant, who forgot the password, was released from Miami-Dade County, and the other from Broward County was sentenced to 180 days in prison.
Broward District Court sentenced a Hollywood resident to imprisonment for 180 days for refusing to give the iPhone a password. Law enforcement officials explained that 41-year-old Christopher Wheeler (Christopher Wheeler) gave them the wrong PIN-code from the device.
Police detained Wheeler in March 2017 for abusing children: according to investigators, he hit and scratched his daughter. At trial, he said that he had called the right password from the smartphone to the law enforcement authorities.
Law enforcement agencies demanded that the man unlock the phone, thinking that they could find pictures of the injuries of the child. The judge allowed the police to check the device, but Wheeler gave them the wrong password. As a result, he received six months in prison for disobedience, but can be released if he calls the correct PIN-code.
At the same time, the Miami-Dade County court ruled that Wesley Victor and his girlfriend be released after he explained that he had forgotten the password from his iPhone.
A couple was arrested ten months ago for extortion on the Internet. They stole a sex video and demanded 18 thousand dollars from the owner for it not to get into social networks. After the investigators demanded to give the password from the smartphone in order to check the availability of the video, Victor and his girlfriend gave the wrong PIN. According to them, they forgot their password while they were behind bars.
Judge Charles Johnson (Charles Johnson) stated that the investigation is not able to establish whether the defendants could have forgotten the password for ten months in prison. According to the couple’s attorney, Johnson made the right decision, since “many, including me, don’t remember the password that was called almost a year ago.”
As noted by Engadget, on the fifth amendment, defendants have the right not to call anything that can be used against them, including passwords from smartphones. According to Judge Johnson, the codes from the devices are like a combination of a safe. He referred to the case in 1998, when a judge of the Supreme Court ruled that the police had the right to demand from the accused a key to the safe, but not a code combination.
The Florida Court of Appeal, where both of these cases took place, ruled that the police could force the defendant to enter the password if they do not know what exactly might be on the device.
The author of The Washington Post said that smartphones should fall under the fifth amendment, since checking the contents of the device is similar to the “underwater expedition”, and the police may not know what they are looking for. Also, in his opinion, relying on this decision of the court, law enforcement agencies may demand to unblock the Touch ID, since the fingerprints do not belong to the “minds” of the suspects.
In the Russian Constitution there is an analogue of the fifth amendment – Article 51, according to which no one is obliged to testify against himself, relatives or spouses. Also, the defendants in Russia are protected by Article 23, according to which everyone has the right to privacy and correspondence.
In 2014, the District Court of Virginia ruled that smartphone passwords fall under the fifth amendment of the US Constitution. According to her, everything that the accused will say can be used against him. Because of this, the police can not force a person to call a password to unlock a smartphone.
However, in 2016, the Florida State Court approved the opposite: the convict was forced to give a password, acknowledging that he was not under the protection of the Constitution.
At the end of May 2017, two different courts in Florida again issued opposite decisions: the defendant, who forgot the password, was released from Miami-Dade County, and the other from Broward County was sentenced to 180 days in prison.
Broward District Court sentenced a Hollywood resident to imprisonment for 180 days for refusing to give the iPhone a password. Law enforcement officials explained that 41-year-old Christopher Wheeler (Christopher Wheeler) gave them the wrong PIN-code from the device.
Police detained Wheeler in March 2017 for abusing children: according to investigators, he hit and scratched his daughter. At trial, he said that he had called the right password from the smartphone to the law enforcement authorities.
Law enforcement agencies demanded that the man unlock the phone, thinking that they could find pictures of the injuries of the child. The judge allowed the police to check the device, but Wheeler gave them the wrong password. As a result, he received six months in prison for disobedience, but can be released if he calls the correct PIN-code.
At the same time, the Miami-Dade County court ruled that Wesley Victor and his girlfriend be released after he explained that he had forgotten the password from his iPhone.
A couple was arrested ten months ago for extortion on the Internet. They stole a sex video and demanded 18 thousand dollars from the owner for it not to get into social networks. After the investigators demanded to give the password from the smartphone in order to check the availability of the video, Victor and his girlfriend gave the wrong PIN. According to them, they forgot their password while they were behind bars.
Judge Charles Johnson (Charles Johnson) stated that the investigation is not able to establish whether the defendants could have forgotten the password for ten months in prison. According to the couple’s attorney, Johnson made the right decision, since “many, including me, don’t remember the password that was called almost a year ago.”
As noted by Engadget, on the fifth amendment, defendants have the right not to call anything that can be used against them, including passwords from smartphones. According to Judge Johnson, the codes from the devices are like a combination of a safe. He referred to the case in 1998, when a judge of the Supreme Court ruled that the police had the right to demand from the accused a key to the safe, but not a code combination.
The Florida Court of Appeal, where both of these cases took place, ruled that the police could force the defendant to enter the password if they do not know what exactly might be on the device.
The author of The Washington Post said that smartphones should fall under the fifth amendment, since checking the contents of the device is similar to the “underwater expedition”, and the police may not know what they are looking for. Also, in his opinion, relying on this decision of the court, law enforcement agencies may demand to unblock the Touch ID, since the fingerprints do not belong to the “minds” of the suspects.
In the Russian Constitution there is an analogue of the fifth amendment – Article 51, according to which no one is obliged to testify against himself, relatives or spouses. Also, the defendants in Russia are protected by Article 23, according to which everyone has the right to privacy and correspondence.