Novel Issue in Cyber Porn Case: Can Man Take Fifth re Password? | ABA Journal - Law News Now
Link: Novel Issue in Cyber Porn Case: Can Man Take Fifth re Password? | ABA Journal - Law News Now.
What if the Government wants to break your computer's security system in order to charge you with a crime? Do you have a right, under the Fifth Amendment, not to help them? This seems like a no brainer to me; however, in this case, the Government is taking the position the Defendant waived his Fifth Amendment rights by admitting the existence of prohibited materials on the password protected computer. Privacy is such a shrinking concept; it is in cases such as this one, where the crime is really gross, that Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination must be protected. Once we start down the slippery slope, we will fall into oblivion.
Wouldm't this be the same as admitting the existense of materials in a locked safe and refusing to give up the combination?
Posted by: Bwatson | April 28, 2008 at 05:50 PM