DOJ Says It Still Seeks Apple's Help in Unlocking iPhone in New York Drug Case

DOJ said in a filing it will continue trying to force Apple to help the government open a locked iPhone seized in a New York drug investigation. "The government's application is not moot and the government continues to require Apple's assistance in accessing the data that it is authorized to search by warrant," U.S. Attorney Robert Capers wrote (in Pacer) Friday to Magistrate Judge Margo Brodie in New York's Eastern District. About a month ago, the government resubmitted its application after a decision by Magistrate Judge James Orenstein, who ruled in favor of Apple in February, denying the U.S. government's motion to force the company to help it break into the iPhone in the drug case. Orenstein said the "government's interpretation of the breadth of authority the [All Writs Act] confers on courts of limited jurisdiction thus raises serious doubts about how such a statute could withstand constitutional scrutiny under the separation-of-powers doctrine" (see 1603010013).