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Judge Rules Man Cannot Be Forced To Decrypt HD
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "In Vermont, US Magistrate Judge Jerome Niedermeier has ruled that forcing someone to divulge the password to decrypt their hard drive violates the 5th Amendment. Border guards testify that they saw child pornography on the defendant's laptop when the PC was on, but they made the mistake of turning it off and were unable to access it again because the drive was protected by PGP. Although prosecutors offered many ways to get around the 5th Amendment protections, the Judge would have none of that and quashed the grand jury subpoena requesting the defendant's PGP passphrase. A conviction is still likely because prosecutors have the testimony of the two border guards who saw the drive while it was open." The article stresses the potential importance of this ruling (which was issued last November but went unnoticed until now): "Especially if this ruling is appealed, US v. Boucher could become a landmark case. The question of whether a criminal defendant can be legally compelled to cough up his encryption passphrase remains an unsettled one, with law review articles for the last decade arguing the merits of either approach."
Update: 08/19 23:49 GMT by KD : Several readers have pointed out that this story in fact did not go unnoticed.
Update: 08/19 23:49 GMT by KD : Several readers have pointed out that this story in fact did not go unnoticed.
Border guards testify that they saw child pornography on the defendant's laptop when the PC was on
wow, so cops testify that it's true? that's good enough for me!
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Is this the MPAA? Is this the RIAA? Is this the DMCA? I thought it was the USA!
What does that make us who may have a girlfriend who dress in school girl outfits for us?
Liars.
What does that make us who may have a girlfriend who dress in school girl outfits for us?
lucky bastards?
How we know is more important than what we know.
Total nerds? Freaks? Transvestites? Gender benders? Have to say it's fun, though.
Don't you remember 9/11, when terrorists flew child porn into the WTC?
For shame, fuzzyfuzzyfungus. For shame.
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ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
Here, we have a story which is not only over 8 months old, but is also a dupe. That has to be some kind of a record.
You must be new here...
What I wear while fantasizing about my wife is none of your concern.
Okay, I don't want my nether hole searched next time I enter the US. Where do I apply for the warrant???
(Some 12 years ago, I crossed into the US through a very remote border post in Maine, and I was wearing a fanny pack that one customs agent wanted to search. So I handed it to him, and he ran his finger through the small change with exactly the same look of a pervert who sifts through a pile of women underwear. Really creepy).
It's the Catholic Church and other organizations that dress up young girls in such hot outfits who are sick.
I swear, Your Honour, she's a 9000 year old space alien with the appearance of a 12 year old human female!
Anyone can "stand up for what they believe", but it takes a very brave individual to change what they believe. - Loundry
-That is correct. I saw a real underage girl dressed in a school uniform being raped by a tentacle alien.
-So your honor, this proves aliens do exist and the government is covering it up!
I'm not *really* talking about swimsuit photos, either, really. I'm sure at some point, some of them were wearing swimsuits, but that was well before the photos were taken. ;)
May I speak for all of us when I say "We wish you the best of luck!"
zosxavius photography