Friday, October 31, 2014
Judge decides law enforcement may compel defendant to unlock cell phone with fingerprint, but not with passcode
As reported in this local article, the Virginia circuit court judge said that the Fifth Amendment's protection against self-incrimination extends to passcodes as communicative evidence. A fingerprint, on the other hand, is like a writing sample or DNA, neither of which receive Fifth Amendment protection.
https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/civil_rights/2014/10/police-can-require-cellphone-fingerprint-not-pass-code.html