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D.C. Circuit Holds Compelling Suspect to Unlock Cellphone With Thumbprint Is ‘Testimonial’ Act and Violates Fifth Amendment Privilege Against Self-Incrimination
by Anthony W. Accurso
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that a defendant being compelled to provide a thumbprint constitutes a testimonial act where it is used to establish ownership of a cellphone and its contents.
Background
Jeffrey Brown, Markus Maly, and Peter Schwartz were charged ...
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More from this issue:
- Community Supervision: America’s Hidden Wellspring to Mass Incarceration, by Douglas Ankney, James Mills
- Hawai’i Supreme Court Reverses Murder Conviction for Prosecutorial Misconduct Based on Prosecution’s Improper Statements During Closing Arguments, by Sam Rutherford
- D.C. Circuit Holds Compelling Suspect to Unlock Cellphone With Thumbprint Is ‘Testimonial’ Act and Violates Fifth Amendment Privilege Against Self-Incrimination, by Anthony Accurso
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- Third Circuit Grants Habeas Relief to Prisoner on Confrontation Clause and Ineffective Assistance Claims Based on Trial Court Reading Entire Criminal Information Into the Record of Co-Conspirator Who Pleaded Guilty, by Sam Rutherford
- Examining Pro-Prosecution Bias in the Judiciary: Unconscious Biases of a Prosecutorial Background, by Casey Bastian
- Colorado Supreme Court Holds Defendant Was in ‘Custody’ for Miranda Purposes Because She Had Hands Bagged and Zip Tied, Commanded Not to Remove Them, and Questioned Alone in Interrogation Room With Door Closed, by Anthony Accurso
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- Police Departments Are Now Using AI to Write Reports, by Anthony Accurso
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More from Anthony Accurso:
- D.C. Circuit Holds Compelling Suspect to Unlock Cellphone With Thumbprint Is ‘Testimonial’ Act and Violates Fifth Amendment Privilege Against Self-Incrimination, Feb. 15, 2025
- $220,000 Settlement After Woman Dies in Ohio Jail From Drug Withdrawal, Feb. 15, 2025
- Colorado Supreme Court Holds Defendant Was in ‘Custody’ for Miranda Purposes Because She Had Hands Bagged and Zip Tied, Commanded Not to Remove Them, and Questioned Alone in Interrogation Room With Door Closed, Feb. 15, 2025
- First Circuit Holds No Emergency-Aid Exception to Warrant Requirement Where Police Have Information That Subject Is Already Deceased, Feb. 15, 2025
- Police Departments Are Now Using AI to Write Reports, Feb. 15, 2025
- Illinois Supreme Court Announces Odor of Burnt Cannabis Alone Is Insufficient to Establish Probable Cause for a Warrantless Vehicle Search, Feb. 1, 2025
- Mass Spectrometry Being Studied as Way to Analyze Overlapping or Weak Fingerprints, Feb. 1, 2025
- Georgia Supreme Court Grants Habeas Relief Where Both Trial and Appellate Counsel Provided Ineffective Assistance by Failing to Challenge Indictment for Residential Burglary That Failed to Allege Defendant Illegally Entered a ‘Dwelling’, Jan. 15, 2025
- Childhood Trauma Incidence Higher Among Those Incarcerated, Jan. 15, 2025
- Nevada Supreme Court Announces Incorporated Probable Cause Affidavit Cannot Broaden Scope of Warrant’s Description of Places and Persons to be Searched or Items to Be Seized, Dec. 1, 2024
More from these topics:
- Mayhem, Murder and Staff Misconduct at Brooklyn BOP Lockup, March 1, 2025. Cell Searches, Drug Testing, Prison/Jail Murders, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Cell Phone Access, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet.
- Senate Votes to Increase Penalties for BOP Contraband Cellphone Smuggling, Jan. 15, 2025. Guard Misconduct, Cell Searches, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Fines.
- Protect Yourself Against Police Invasion of Your Cellphone, Jan. 15, 2025. Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Cell-Phones.
- Kansas Supreme Court Announces Defendant-Witness Retains Fifth Amendment Privilege Against Compelled Self-Incrimination After Guilty Plea and Sentencing as Long as Testimony Sought Presents Legitimate Risk of Incrimination, Dec. 15, 2024. Self Incrimination, Self-Incrimination Clause, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
- Recovering Deleted Messages, Dec. 15, 2024. Media, Forensic Sciences, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet.
- Alabama Guard, Prisoners Among 13 Sentenced in Phone Scam and Drug-Smuggling Ring, Nov. 15, 2024. Guard Misconduct, Cell Searches, War on Drugs, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet.
- Delaware Supreme Court: Counsel Ineffective for Failing to Challenge Search of Cellphone Where Consent Was Ambiguous and Warrant Constituted a General Warrant, Nov. 1, 2024. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Warrants - Requirements/Scope/Exceptions.
- Three Former Rikers Island Guards Among Five Ex-Employees Charged in Massive Smuggling Scheme, Oct. 15, 2024. Guard Misconduct, War on Drugs, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet.
- Pennsylvania Prisoner Smuggles Cellphones, Federal Prosecutor Breaches Plea Bargain, Sept. 15, 2024. Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Breach of Plea/Coop./Immunity Agreements.
- The FBI Really Doesn’t Want the Public to Know About This Surveillance Device, Sept. 1, 2024. FBI, Police State-Surveillance, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Cell Site Location Information ("CSLI").
