Apple formally objects in San Bernardino iPhone evidence fight
Apple filed a formal objection Tuesday to a federal court order that the company must help the FBI unlock an iPhone, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports.
The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California matter stems from a December 2015 mass shooting in San Bernardino. The FBI wants Apple to help it access the iPhone of the late Syed Rizwan Farook, who with his wife killed 14 people at a holiday party.
Apple previously filed a motion to vacate Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym’s February order, and the Tuesday filing was made to preserve the appeal if she upholds the order, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Also, Apple on Wednesday filed notice in Pym’s court about a New York federal magistrate order (PDF) that found that the Justice Department does not have the authority to force Apple to help open a seized iPhone, The Feb. 29 order, by Magistrate Judge James Orenstein, is the first of its kind, according to the Wall Street Journal, and stems from a drug investigation.
In the Central District of California, the ACLU has submitted a friend of the court brief on Apple’s behalf, the Wall Street Journal reports. More are expected from various technology companies, as are law enforcement friends of the court briefs on the government’s behalf.
