On Tue, Apr 26, 2011 at 6:11 PM, Steven Morrey <[email protected]>wrote:

> As far as the 5th amendment goes this has already been decided in a court
> case.  I will try to find a reference but in a nutshell it was determined
> that the 5th does not apply to password or certificate based encryption.


Is there more to this story than meets the eye?

Compelling a suspect to open a safe is no different, in principle, from
compelling said suspect to reveal the safe's combination.  If a suspect can
be compelled to open a safe, then one must conclude that said suspect
similarly has no right to silence.  Given Miranda, this doesn't sound right
to me.

If we're talking about a third-party rather than a suspect, then I could see
how rights against self-incrimination might not apply, and contempt charges
could arise.  I just can't imagine any circumstance wherein suspects can be
compelled to take any action, verbal or otherwise, that would help the state
make a criminal case against them.

What am I missing?

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