Posted on 05/31/2017 8:21:28 PM PDT by Swordmaker
“So - two courts on either end of this nation reach two different conclusions regarding access to smartphones... “
Not really.
The only reason he remains in jail is the passcode.
In the old days, a judge could issue a warrant and officers would search businesses or a residence looking for evidence.
I think phone data could be seen pretty much like that. There is a difference though.
Phones almost come closer to a diary today than simply a stack of papers or documents. They are in our hands constantly. They are almost an extension of our brains.
We reference them constantly. We make notes to ourselves. We can keep PDFs and other personal documents in them.
When a judge issues a subpoena, he's opening up the whole phone to law enforcement, not just certain documents. You have to review a lot of things on the phone to rule out what isn't relevant, and that can open you up to expanded charges depending on what authorities run into.
What if in 50 years scientists do develop the ability to incorporate memory and apps onto circuitry that can be implanted into our bodies, to augment our mental abilities?
If this takes place, will the courts then have the right to subpoena that circuitry, in effect accessing our mental cognitive existence?
At what point do these types of things become in effect a part of our being? Will it have to be implanted first? Will that ever be a consideration?
I'm not convinced this guy is the best example, but if we advocate for his most private of information to be accessed over his objection, can't our privacy be accessed too for less once a precedent is set?
I'm not real sure I want our courts to go there.
However in MD, my analysis is spot-on correct.
I would know, I was a prosecutor for 9 years and had to extend immunity in several cases.
Judges do f#cked up things all the time - it's why appellate courts exist.
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