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Massachusetts high court says accused criminal must decrypt computers for police [View all]
Source: Reuters
Massachusetts high court says accused criminal must decrypt computers for police
BY ELIZABETH BARBER
BOSTON Wed Jun 25, 2014 3:27pm EDT
(Reuters) - Police can order an accused criminal to decrypt his computer without violating his constitutional right against self-incrimination, Massachusetts' top court said on Wednesday.
In the latest U.S. ruling on the contentious issue, the 5-2 ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reverses a lower court’s finding that police could not force Leon Gelfgatt, charged with mortgage fraud, to decrypt four computers seized in an investigation, since doing so would violate his Fifth Amendment right.
The court found that since Gelfgatt had told investigators that the computer belonged to him and that he had the encryption key, police could compel him to decrypt his files.
“The Commonwealth's motion to compel decryption does not violate the defendant's rights under the Fifth Amendment because the defendant is only telling the government what it already knows,” according to the court’s opinion.
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BY ELIZABETH BARBER
BOSTON Wed Jun 25, 2014 3:27pm EDT
(Reuters) - Police can order an accused criminal to decrypt his computer without violating his constitutional right against self-incrimination, Massachusetts' top court said on Wednesday.
In the latest U.S. ruling on the contentious issue, the 5-2 ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reverses a lower court’s finding that police could not force Leon Gelfgatt, charged with mortgage fraud, to decrypt four computers seized in an investigation, since doing so would violate his Fifth Amendment right.
The court found that since Gelfgatt had told investigators that the computer belonged to him and that he had the encryption key, police could compel him to decrypt his files.
“The Commonwealth's motion to compel decryption does not violate the defendant's rights under the Fifth Amendment because the defendant is only telling the government what it already knows,” according to the court’s opinion.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/25/us-usa-cybercrime-massachusetts-idUSKBN0F02J920140625
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