EPIC - State v. Andrews

State v. Andrews

Whether the compelled production of a cell phone passcode violates the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination

Background|
EPIC's Interest|
Legal Documents|
News

New Jersey Supreme Court Finds Passcode Disclosure Testimonial, But Allows Compelled Decryption of Cell Phone: The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled today in State v. Andrews that an exception to the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination allows the government to compel decryption of a cell phone if the government has a valid search warrant and knows the identity of the phone’s owner. The court determined that compelled disclosure of a passcode is a testimonial act, but found that the foregone conclusion exception can apply to force decryption under certain circumstances. Importantly, the court stressed that, because the scope of the search in this case was very narrow, the decision did not license a “fishing expedition.” The court also signaled that it would apply the same restrictions to biometric passcodes as alphanumeric passcodes, stating that applying different standards to the two types of passcodes would be “problematic.” EPIC filed an amicus brief and presented oral argument in the case. Citing Riley v. California and Carpenter v. United States, EPIC argued that the vast troves of personal data stored in cell phones “justifies strong constitutional protections.” During oral argument, EPIC urged the court to adopt one rule for biometric and alphanumeric passcodes. (Aug. 10, 2020)
EPIC to Argue in Court Fifth Amendment Protects Cell Phone Passcodes: EPIC will present argument today in State v. Andrews, a New Jersey Supreme Court case about the compelled disclosure of a cell phone passcode. In its amicus brief, EPIC argued that the Fifth Amendment limits the ability of the government to obtain cellphone passcodes. Citing Riley v. California and Carpenter v. United States, EPIC said the U.S. Supreme Court has held that the vast troves of personal data stored in cell phones "justifies strong constitutional protections." EPIC also explained that limited exceptions to Fifth Amendment safeguards were adopted before personal information was "consolidated in one place." EPIC routinely files amicus briefs arguing that constitutional protections should keep pace with advances in technology. EPIC filed amicus briefs in Carpenter and Riley, which both involved the searches of cellphones. The Supreme Court cited EPIC's amicus brief in the Riley opinion. (Jan. 21, 2020)

More top news »

New Jersey Supreme Court Finds Passcode Disclosure Testimonial, But Allows Compelled Decryption of Cell Phone » (Aug. 10, 2020)

The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled today in State v. Andrews that an exception to the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination allows the government to compel decryption of a cell phone if the government has a valid search warrant and knows the identity of the phone’s owner. The court determined that compelled disclosure of a passcode is a testimonial act, but found that the foregone conclusion exception can apply to force decryption under certain circumstances. Importantly, the court stressed that, because the scope of the search in this case was very narrow, the decision did not license a “fishing expedition.” The court also signaled that it would apply the same restrictions to biometric passcodes as alphanumeric passcodes, stating that applying different standards to the two types of passcodes would be “problematic.” EPIC filed an amicus brief and presented oral argument in the case. Citing Riley v. California and Carpenter v. United States, EPIC argued that the vast troves of personal data stored in cell phones “justifies strong constitutional protections.” During oral argument, EPIC urged the court to adopt one rule for biometric and alphanumeric passcodes.

Indiana Supreme Court Says No to Compelled Decryption of Cell Phones » (Jun. 23, 2020)

The Indiana Supreme Court ruled today that the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination prevents law enforcement from compelling an individual to unlock their smartphone. The court declared that an exception to the Fifth Amendment did not apply because the government had not demonstrated sufficient knowledge of the files it intended to access. The court also questioned whether the exception should apply to cell phones at all because the type and amount of information cell phones contain make compelled production of their contents different than compelled production of physical documents, citing the Supreme Court’s decisions in Riley v. California and Carpenter v. United States . The court wrote that “the Supreme Court has hesitated to apply even entrenched doctrines to novel dilemmas, wholly unforeseen when those doctrines were created.” EPIC urged the New Jersey Supreme Court to adopt the same reasoning in State v. Andrews, arguing that, under Riley and Carpenter, individuals cannot be compelled to decrypt their cell phones unless the government has specific knowledge about the files it will access. The New Jersey court has not issued a ruling in the case.

PA Supreme Court Rules Government Cannot Compel Suspect to Disclose Password » (Nov. 20, 2019)

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled today that the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination prevents the government from requiring a suspect to divulge their computer passcode. The court found that "compelling the disclosure of a password to a computer" is testimonial, and that a limited exception to the Fifth Amendment privilege does not apply to passwords. EPIC filed an amicus brief in a similar case in the New Jersey Supreme Court. EPIC argued in State v. Andrews that the Fifth Amendment exception should be limited because it predated the vast amounts of personal data stored on computers and telephones. EPIC cited the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decisions in Riley v. California and Carpenter v. United States. EPIC has long filed amicus briefs arguing that constitutional protections should keep pace with advances in technology.

EPIC Asks NJ Supreme Court to Apply Fifth Amendment to Cell Phone Searches » (Jul. 23, 2019)

EPIC has submitted an amicus brief in State v. Andrews, a New Jersey Supreme Court case about the compelled disclosure of a cell phone passcode. In the brief, EPIC argued that the Fifth Amendment limits the ability of the government to obtain cellphone passcodes. EPIC explained that the U.S. Supreme Court's decisions in Riley v. California and Carpenter v. United States found that the vast amounts of personal data stored in cell phones "justifies strong constitutional protections." EPIC also explained that exceptions to the Fifth Amendment were adopted before personal information was "consolidated in one place." EPIC has long filed "friend of the court" briefs arguing that constitutional protections should keep pace with advances in technology. EPIC filed amicus briefs in Carpenter and Riley, which both involved the searches of cellphones. The U.S. Supreme Court cited EPIC's amicus brief in its opinion.

Summary

This case concerns whether the compelled production of a cellphone password violates a defendant’s right against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment, New Jersey statute, and New Jersey common law. In 2016, Robert Andrews, an Essex County Sheriff's Office officer, was arrested and indicted on six counts. During his arrest, he turned over two phones. The State filed a motion to compel Andrews to disclose his phone passwords. Andrews opposed the State’s motion on the grounds that it violated his right against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment and New Jersey law. Both the trial and appellate courts sided with the State. The New Jersey Supreme Court granted review.

Background

Legal Background

The Fifth Amendment

The Fifth Amendment recognizes that no person “shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself” and involves two inquiries: whether the evidence sought is (1) testimonial, and (2) not a “foregone conclusion.” In Schmerber v. California, the Supreme Court limited the Fifth Amendment to incriminating “evidence of testimonial or communicative nature,” holding that a blood sample was not testimonial and thus, not protected by the Fifth Amendment. In Doe v. United States, the Court attempted to more specifically define testimonial evidence:“an accused’s communication must itself, explicitly or implicitly, relate to a factual assertion or disclose information.” But courts around the country still disagree over whether specific pieces of evidence are testimonial or not.

In Fisher v. United States, the Court applied the privilege against self-incrimination to acts of production. But the Court decided that the Fifth Amendment’s application to acts of production is cabined by the foregone conclusion exception: if the information sought from the defendant “adds little or nothing to the sum total” of what the government already knows, it is a "foregone conclusion" and not protected by the Fifth Amendment. The Court defined the foregone conclusion exception more specifically in Hubbell v. United States: if production would reveal (1) the existence of, (2) the defendant's possession of, and (3) the authenticity of the documents, the evidence in question is a foregone conclusion and can be compelled.

Recently, courts have been faced with the question of how the foregone conclusion should apply to password-protected devices. While most courts have held that the production of a numeric password communicates knowledge and is thus, testimonial, courts have disagreed over whether the foregone conclusion exception applies. Some courts have required that the Government must establish knowledge of specific files on a cell phone to trigger the exception. Other courts have required that the Government only establish knowledge of the cell phone password. But courts requiring the latter will almost always find a foregone conclusion, whereas courts requiring the former, will not.

Riley v. California

In Riley, the Supreme Court declined to extend the search incident to arrest exception to searches of cell phone data. The Court noted that to analogize the search of a cell phone with the search of other physical items is like “saying a ride on horseback is materially indistinguishable from a flight to the moon. Both are ways of getting from Point A to Point B but little else justified lumping them together.” The Court in Riley reasoned that because modern cell phones create, receive, and access vast amounts of data, they cannot be held to the same standards as other physical storage containers.

In Carpenter v. United States, the Supreme Court cited Riley and refused to extend the third-party doctrine to cell-site location information, explaining that “seismic shifts in digital technology” required a reconsideration of the doctrine as applied to cell phone data. Again, the Court recognized that providing law enforcement with access to an individual's cell phone in a digital age would be an intense invasion of privacy. As technology advances, courts must make decisions “to ensure that the progress of science does not erode“ constitutional protections.

Lower courts have extended Riley’s reasoning from the Fourth to the Fifth Amendment. In In re Application for a Search Warrant for example, the Northern District of Illinois used Riley to distinguish fingerprinting for identification puposes and fingerprinting cell phone authentication purposes. The court reasoned that the latter required stronger constitutional protections because of the vast privacy implications associated with giving law enforcement access one’s cell phone. Similarly, in In re Search of a Residence in Oakland, the Northern District of California relied on Riley in refusing to extend the foregone conclusion exception to passwords, emphasizing that “mobile phones are subject to different treatment than more traditional storage devices.”

Factual Background

In 2015, an Essex County Prosecutor's Office task force investigated Quincy Lowry, a member of a suspected narcotics-trafficking network in Newark. After Lowery’s arrest, he gave a formal statement, alleging that Andrews helped him conceal his illegal activities. When confronted by authorities, Andrews turned over his phones, but refused to give a statement or consent to a phone search. In 2016, Andrews was indicted by an Essex County grand jury on six counts.

Procedural History

Superior Court, Law Divison, Essex County

In 2017, the State filed a motion to compel Andrews to disclose his phone passwords. In support of its motion, the State obtained and submitted Lowery’s phone records, which showed that 187 phone calls and a series of text messages were made between the pair in the thirty days before Lowery’s arrest. Because Andrews advised Lowery to reset his phones every month, the State could not access the texts nor could it discover the duration of the phone calls. Andrews opposed the State’s motion on the grounds that it violated his right against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment and under New Jersey law.

The trial court granted the state's motion. Andrews appealed.

Superior Court of New Jersey

On appeal, the Superior Court unanimously upheld the trial court’s order, compelling Andrews to disclose his phone passwords and rejected Andrews’ Fifth Amendment claims. Though the court assumed that password production was testimonial, it maintained that disclosure was required by the foregone conclusion exception. The court explained that the State had successfully establish knowledge, possession, and authenticity of the cell phone passwords. The court also rejected Andrews’ claims that compelled disclosure would violate his right against self-incrimination under New Jersey statute and common law.

EPIC's Interest

EPIC has long sought to ensure that constitutional protections keep pace with advances in technology. For instance, EPIC filed an amicus brief before the Supreme Court in Carpenter v. United States arguing that the technological changes justified broader Fourth Amendment protections. EPIC also filed a brief in Riley v. California that was cited in the Supreme Court's decision recognizing that cell phones cannot be searched incident to an arrest without a warrant.

EPIC has also filed amicus briefs in the NJ Supreme Court on several other occasions: State v. Earls, G.D. v. Kenny, and State v. Reid.