Cops Can Force Suspect to Unlock Phone With Thumbprint, US Court Rules
Freeman writes:
The US Constitution's Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination does not prohibit police officers from forcing a suspect to unlock a phone with a thumbprint scan, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday. The ruling does not apply to all cases in which biometrics are used to unlock an electronic device but is a significant decision in an unsettled area of the law.
The US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit had to grapple with the question of "whether the compelled use of Payne's thumb to unlock his phone was testimonial," the ruling in United States v. Jeremy Travis Payne said. "To date, neither the Supreme Court nor any of our sister circuits have addressed whether the compelled use of a biometric to unlock an electronic device is testimonial."
A three-judge panel at the 9th Circuit ruled unanimously against Payne, affirming a US District Court's denial of Payne's motion to suppress evidence. Payne was a California parolee who was arrested by California Highway Patrol (CHP) after a 2021 traffic stop and charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, fluorofentanyl, and cocaine.
[...] US District Courts applying Doe and Hubbell have reached different conclusions on biometric unlocking. The 9th Circuit decided that the compelled use of Payne's thumb "required no cognitive exertion" because it "merely provided CHP with access to a source of potential information, much like the consent directive in Doe. The considerations regarding existence, control, and authentication that were present in Hubbell are absent or, at a minimum, significantly less compelling in this case. Accordingly, under the current binding Supreme Court framework, the use of Payne's thumb to unlock his phone was not a testimonial act and the Fifth Amendment does not apply."
[...] Yesterday's ruling from the 9th Circuit also rejected Payne's argument that California Highway Patrol violated his Fourth Amendment rights. The Fourth Amendment dispute involved a special search condition in Payne's parole "requiring him to surrender any electronic device and provide a pass key or code, but not requiring him to provide a biometric identifier to unlock the device," the ruling said.
Despite that parole condition, "the search was authorized under a general search condition, mandated by California law, allowing the suspicionless search of any property under Payne's control," the ruling said.
"Moreover, we hold that any ambiguity created by the inclusion of the special condition, when factored into the totality of the circumstances, did not increase Payne's expectation of privacy in his cell phone to render the search unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment," the panel wrote.
Previously on SoylentNews:
It's Unconstitutional for Cops to Force Phone Unlocking, Court Rules - 20200625
Fingerprint Analysis Could Finally Get Scientific, Thanks to a New Tool - 20180519
Search Warrant for Your Fingerprint - 20160503
Police can Compel Fingerprint Unlocking of Phones - in Virginia - 20141104
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