DOJ Ignores Prior Ruling in New York iPhone Drug Case, Apples Says in Motion

The federal government's renewed application to force Apple to open a locked iPhone seized in a New York drug investigation is trying to "obscure" an "inconvenient fact" that Magistrate Judge James Orenstein in New York's Eastern District has already "soundly rejected" DOJ's previous legal argument in the case, the company said in a filing (in Pacer) Friday. In February, Orenstein denied the government's motion to get Apple's help with the device, saying 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). The government appealed and resubmitted its application (see 1604080064). Apple said it's unclear whether the evidence in the iPhone has any value and the defendant in the case already pleaded guilty. Apple also questioned whether its assistance is necessary since the DOJ withdrew a similar motion in a case involving an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino, California, mass shooters. "As a preliminary matter, the government has utterly failed to satisfy its burden to demonstrate that Apple's assistance in this case is necessary -- a prerequisite to compelling third party assistance under the All Writs Act," Apple said in the motion. The company asked the court to reject DOJ's "overarching and unsupported" interpretation of the act and deny the application.