Magistrate Declines To Compel Biometric Unlocking Of Devices By Warrant

Mealey's (July 8, 2020, 10:27 AM EDT) -- LEXINGTON, Ky. — Although a Kentucky federal magistrate judge concluded that a search warrant compelling an individual to unlock an electronic device via a biometric input can comport with the protections of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the magistrate in a July 2 ruling declined to compel such production in a warrant requested by the federal government because the application did not establish the necessary reasonable suspicion (In re Search Warrant No. 5165, No. 5:20-mj-05165, E.D. Ky., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117049)....