[952] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
Re: encryption by the wind in an open field
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Peter Trei)
Fri Jun 6 16:22:44 1997
From: "Peter Trei" <trei@process.com>
To: Black Unicorn <unicorn@schloss.li>, cryptography@c2.net, cme@cybercash.com
Date: Fri, 6 Jun 1997 15:54:56 -6
Reply-to: trei@process.com
CC: trei@c2.net
Black Unicorn wrote:
> On Fri, 6 Jun 1997, Carl Ellison wrote:
>
>
> > If a criminal writes that diary entry and remembers the key but refuses to
> > hand it over, is he guilty -- and, if so, of what?
>
> Contempt of court. Destruction of material evidence to a crime.
> Obstruction.
>
> Really the leap from a locked safe containing the bookkeeping evidence of
> illegal activity, and the encrypted disk is not a great one.
>
> It all hinges on your view of the concept that a court is entitled to
> evidence of a crime it is hearing argument on.
>
> > - Carl
A year or so ago, perhaps on the cypherpunk list, there was a post
citing a legal precedent. In it a judge opined that in the case
of a locked safe, a suspect could be coerced into handing over a
physical key, but that forcing him/her to reveal a combination (which
existed only in his/her memory) would violate their right against
self-incrimination.
Any one else remember this?
Peter Trei
trei@process.com
