Federal Criminal Lawyer

If you've noticed the increased presence of Police officers around the District of Columbia this week, you aren't just seeing things. National Police Memorial Day is May 15th, and every year officers and supporters from around the Country flock to Washington DC to take part in a full week of competitions, memorials, ceremonies and conferences. National Police Week began on May 13th this year and will run through the 19th.

Tuesday is National Police Memorial Day, one of only two days on the Calendar in which the government requires all U.S. flags be flown at half staff; the other of course being Memorial Day. There will be memorials held all over the Country, but many officers and supporters will meet at the National Officer Memorial in Washington on Tuesday to offer their remembrance.

You will also notice that every law enforcement officer across the Country will be wearing a one-inch black band across their shield, star or badge on Tuesday to honor those that have fallen. According to PoliceOne.com, 166 officers were killed in the line of duty in 2011, a staggering increase of almost 14% from the previous year. So far in 2012 35 officers have lost their lives.

While the events at National Police Week are designed to honor those have fallen, they are also about protecting those who continue to honor us with their service. The National Law Officers Memorial Fund will be running events and meetings all this week to instruct officers how to better stay healthy in the line of duty while also discussing new strategies that could help improve safety. You can find a complete list of the events that will be going on this week at their website.

Contact Price Benowitz LLP with any questions, or to schedule a free consultation. Please visit our Ellicott City criminal law and Alexandria criminal lawyer sites for more information on those practices.

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David Benowitz is one of the founding partners of Price Benowitz LLP. He is a respected criminal defense attorney, who is the only DC-barred attorney who has been board certified as a criminal advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. In addition to criminal defense, Price Benowitz has a personal injury practice. For more information you can visit the law firm's Washington DC personal injury attorney website.

Last night, 60 Minutes told the story of Michael Morton. Mr. Morton served 25 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. He was exonerated by DNA testing. A Texas judge found that there was probable cause that the original prosecutor in the case, Ken Anderson, violated Texas law when he withheld police reports indicating that Mr. Morton's son had witnessed someone else commit the murder and that a neighbor had seen a strange man near Morton's home at the time of the murder.

Mr. Anderson, now a judge, obstructed justice and acted as an accessory after the fact; he aided the actual murderer in escaping arrest. The fact that he is under criminal investigation is almost unheard of. Mr. Anderson's lawyer seeks to characterize his client's actions as an unfortunate oversight. Michael Morton responded in a way that should apply to Ted Stevens's prosecutors and others who have been found to have deliberately hidden evidence that someone is innocent of the crime they're charged with, "if you or I did something like that, impeded evidence in a [homicide] investigation, we'd be in jail." That's where Ken Anderson should be.

Please contact Price Benowitz LLP if you have any questions or would like to schedule a free consultation. You can also head over to our Alexandria criminal lawyer and Prince George's criminal lawyer sites for more information about representation in Maryland and Virginia.

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The 11th Circuit recently held that a suspect need not provide government prosecutors with computer passwords to help them gather evidence. At the same time, a Colorado District Court ordered a fraud defendant to unlock hers. With advancements in computer technology and encryption software, higher courts may have to settle this issue in the near future.

Just a few years ago, forensic computer analysts used special software and equipment, such as Encase Software, to "plug-in" to a suspect's hard drive while executing a search warrant and access or copy any evidence they needed. Now, advanced encryption technologies can prevent access to incriminating information by "splitting" the hard-drive and blocking forensic efforts to those segmented portions. This encryption has left prosecutors without ample evidence to proceed in some high profile cases, and courts have been asked to order the release of computer passwords.

In Florida, the 11th Circuit recently decided the issue in favor of the individual. The Court viewed compelled disclosure of passwords as forced testimony, which is protected by the Fifth Amendment's right against self-incrimination. The Court, however, limited their decision to cases where discovery of incriminating evidence was not a foregone conclusion; meaning, the rule only applies where the government cannot identify or link any incriminating data to the suspect. The rule applied in this case because there was no proof that incriminating data existed on the hard drive, or that the suspect had access to it.

Conversely, the Colorado case involved mortgage fraud defendants, who were linked to the computer and evidence on it during wire-tapped phone calls. Here, the defendant was required to unlock her computer for the prosecutors; she refused to do so, and the 10th Circuit declined hearing her emergency appeal. Subsequently, the defendant's ex-husband and co-defendant provided the government with a list of possible passwords, and they were able to open the computer anyway.

So what is the law then? Can a court require a suspect to disclose his passwords and enable the government to access evidence for use against him at trial? At its core, this act seems like compelling someone to testify against themselves, whether evidence was a foregone conclusion or not. I strain to see the difference between ordering a defendant to disclose passwords or unlock a computer, and forcing them to get on the witness stand under oath and announce their passwords in open court.

Law Clerk Rosie Escobar Brown wrote this blog post. Price Benowitz LLP is a criminal defense and personal injury law firm founded by respected criminal defense lawyer David Benowitz. Please visit our Arlington County criminal lawyer or Montgomery County criminal lawyer sites for more information about our branches in Maryland and Virginia.

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