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Providing a fingerprint isn't considered testimony, and the law doesn't currently make an exception for a fingerprint used as the equivalent of a passphrase. Th
by khedoros 10y ago
Providing a fingerprint isn't considered testimony, and the law doesn't currently make an exception for a fingerprint used as the equivalent of a passphrase. The fifth amendment protects knowledge, but not physical constructs like a fingerprint or DNA swab[1].
So, you can be compelled to provide a fingerprint, and the use that the fingerprint is put to is outside the scope of 5th amendment protections.
http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-207_d18e.pdf http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-207_d18e.pdf
- taneq 10y agoIt's gonna get really interesting if/when neuroscience advances to the point where we can just read a passcode out of someone's brainwaves. I don't see any legal difference between the fingerprint case and the brain-scan case (both are measuring a physical aspect of the person) but it's going to completely bypass the fifth amendment.