Trenton, New Jersey—On Tuesday, January 21, at 1 pm, EFF Senior Staff Attorney Andrew Crocker will ask the New Jersey Supreme Court to rule that the state can’t force a defendant to turn over the passcode for his encrypted iPhone under the Fifth Amendment, which protects American’s rights against self-incrimination.
The Fifth Amendment states that people cannot be forced to incriminate themselves, and it’s well settled that this privilege against self-incrimination covers compelled “testimonial” communications, including physical acts. However,
courts
have
split
over how to apply the
Fifth Amendment
to compelled decryption of encrypted devices.
EFF, ACLU, and ACLU of New Jersey filed a brief in the case
State v. Andrews
arguing that the state can’t compel a suspect to recall and use information that exists only in his memory to aid law enforcement’s prosecution of him.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Crocker will tell the court that reciting, writing, typing or otherwise reproducing a password from memory is testimony protected by the Fifth Amendment.
Read the amicus brief EFF filed in the
Andrews
case:
https://www.eff.org/document/effaclu-amicus-us-v-andrews
WHO: EFF Senior Staff Attorney Andrew Crocker
WHAT:
New Jersey v. Andrews
WHERE:
Supreme Court of New Jersey
25 Market St.
Trenton, NJ 08611
The argument will also be
live-streamed
.
WHEN:
Tuesday
January 21
1 pm
RELATED ISSUES
PRIVACY
RELATED CASES
U.S. V DOE (IN RE: GRAND JURY SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM DATED MARCH 25, 2011)