CAAF: It violated Miranda to order soldier provide password to unlock properly seized cell phone

It violated a Mirandized suspect’s Fifth Amendment rights to direct him to enter the passcode into a properly seized cell phone to unlock it for a search. United States v. Mitchell, 2017 CAAF LEXIS 856 (C.A. A.F. Aug. 30, 2017):

We address today the Fifth Amendment limits on asking a suspect to unlock his phone when the device has been seized pursuant to a valid search and seizure authorization. Because Appellee had previously invoked his right to counsel, we hold that the Government violated his Fifth Amendment rights as protected by Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477 (1981), when agents asked him in the absence of counsel to enter the phone’s passcode. Pursuant to the plain language of Military Rule of Evidence (M.R.E.) 305(c)(2), the contents of the phone must therefore be suppressed.