> The fact that police can't access your data without your permission is a technical reason, not a legal reason. Warrants say the police can search your home. Everything in your home. The data on the machines in your home. If a police officer knocks on your door and presents a valid warrant and you say "good luck, I've booby trapped my home as a fortress with shotguns and explosives and I refuse to disable them" you will be locked in jail until you do. Police don't have to deal with your bullshit when a judge orders you to do something and you refuse to comply. They just lock you in jail until you do what they say.
When you start using such bullshit, outlandish arguments, you've lost the point.
> In your scenario, if they had a warrant for your grocery list or XMPP server data, you wouldn't be "jailed indefinitely", you'd be jailed until you complied with a lawful order to turn over the data you possess.
They have the data. What they don't have is an ability to interpret the data, but they most definitely have been given the data.
If that's really your measuring stick, then they need to let this guy go because they have the data in their possession.
What next, we're going to jail someone indefinitely (oh I'm sorry, not indefinitely, just "until they comply"...) because they refuse to read off their grocery list, which they wrote down in french because the police can't find someone else to read it for them?
no, fuck that, it's all splitting hairs.
"We don't want him to give us the password, just force him to unlock it for us, so it's totally not the same thing!".
> Actually, the police might not be able to search anywhere just because they have a search warrant, there is a requirement that a warrant describe specifically the place to be searched and the items to be seized. Although it is possible that a warrant will give police a general license to search anywhere in a home, it is also possible that the search might be limited to specific areas in the home.
Maybe you live in a different country, but in the US it's typically understood that a warrant is meant to be specific to avoid the issue with police getting a warrant to look for a stolen bike and going through your toilet looking for hidden drugs.
When you start using such bullshit, outlandish arguments, you've lost the point.
> In your scenario, if they had a warrant for your grocery list or XMPP server data, you wouldn't be "jailed indefinitely", you'd be jailed until you complied with a lawful order to turn over the data you possess.
They have the data. What they don't have is an ability to interpret the data, but they most definitely have been given the data.
If that's really your measuring stick, then they need to let this guy go because they have the data in their possession.
What next, we're going to jail someone indefinitely (oh I'm sorry, not indefinitely, just "until they comply"...) because they refuse to read off their grocery list, which they wrote down in french because the police can't find someone else to read it for them?
no, fuck that, it's all splitting hairs.
"We don't want him to give us the password, just force him to unlock it for us, so it's totally not the same thing!".
Right...
Oh also.... you're wrong about the warrant point.
http://criminal-law.freeadvice.com/criminal-law/arrests_and_...
> Actually, the police might not be able to search anywhere just because they have a search warrant, there is a requirement that a warrant describe specifically the place to be searched and the items to be seized. Although it is possible that a warrant will give police a general license to search anywhere in a home, it is also possible that the search might be limited to specific areas in the home.
Maybe you live in a different country, but in the US it's typically understood that a warrant is meant to be specific to avoid the issue with police getting a warrant to look for a stolen bike and going through your toilet looking for hidden drugs.