In a unanimous ruling, Utah’s state Supreme Court has stated that criminal suspects have the right to refuse to provide phone passcodes to the police under the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. The case involves Alfonso Valdez, who was arrested for kidnapping and assaulting his ex-girlfriend. The police obtained a search warrant for Valdez’s phone but were unable to crack his passcode. Valdez refused to provide his passcode to a police detective, which was used against him at his trial. The court of appeals reversed his conviction, stating that Valdez had the right to refuse to provide his passcode. This ruling raises complex questions about how the Fifth Amendment extends to law enforcement’s efforts to unlock encrypted devices. Legal experts believe that this case could potentially be taken up by the US Supreme Court to provide clarity on this issue.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/12/suspects-can-refuse-to-provide-phone-passcodes-to-police-court-rules/