Court rules cellphone passcodes are secret

Cops can’t force you to turn over the passcode to your cellphone, even if you’re suspected of killing someone, a court says.

The 4th District Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday that a teenager accused of speeding, driving drunk and causing an accident that killed a family member cannot be forced to reveal his password.

The teen, described only as a minor with the initials “G.A.Q.L.,” was entitled to protection under the Fifth Amendment, which prohibits forcing a defendant to testify against himself, the court said.

The teen was traveling with at least two passengers, one of whom survived, according to the appeals

court decision. The driver was speeding and had a blood alcohol content of 0.086, above Florida’s legal limit of 0.08, according to the appeals court ruling.

Defense lawyer Eric Schwartzreich disputed those allegations.

“It’s our position that my client was not impaired,” Schwartzreich said. “This was an accident and nothing more.”

A surviving passenger told investigators that the group had been drinking vodka before the crash and that she had been communicating with the driver on his iPhone.

Police got a warrant to search the phone for messages, pictures and other information, but could not proceed because it is protected by his passcode. Broward Circuit Judge Andrew Siegel ordered the teen to reveal the passcode, finding it was no different from asking for a key to a lockbox.

But Schwartzreich and attorney Jason Kaufman, also representing the defendant, said prosecutors were on a fishing expedition and the passcode is the kind of information a defendant cannot be forced to turn over.

“Our phones are a wealth of knowledge in this day and age,” Schwartzreich said.

The appeals court cited U.S. Supreme Court cases specifically saying prosecutors are entitled to obtain the key to a safe from a defendant but not the combination.

“When the compelled act is one of testimony rather than simple surrender, the Fifth Amendment applies,” the court ruled.

The Broward State Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the case, citing its status as an ongoing investigation.

The ruling puts the 4th District, the appeals court covering Broward and Palm Beach counties, at odds with the 2nd District Court of Appeal, which covers southwest Florida and ruled recently that surrendering a passcode is not the same as providing testimony in a criminal case.

The Florida Supreme Court typically intervenes when two appellate courts disagree on the same legal issue.