You’re facing criminal charges and the police are conducting an investigation. They believe that you have critical evidence on your phone, such as text messages sent to other people who they believe were in on it with you. They want to look at your phone to find this evidence, but they can’t get into it because the phone is locked.
In most cases, the police will simply ask you to unlock it for them. If you give them your consent, then they’re allowed to search your phone. In other cases, they’ll have to go get a search warrant because you are not obligated to give them your consent.
But what happens if they make you unlock the device? Say that it is locked behind a fingerprint scanner, but they push your finger against that scanner and force you to unlock it so that they can search for evidence. Could that evidence then be used against you?
The fruit of the poisonous tree
In many cases, the answer is no. That evidence would have to be excluded from court, even if it would’ve led to a conviction.
The reason for this is that the police would’ve broken procedure by forcing you to unlock the device without your consent or a search warrant. This is a violation of your rights, so the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine indicates that any subsequent evidence also cannot be used. Even if they find text messages where you admit to the exact criminal activity that they believe you carried out, it would become very difficult for them to get a conviction.
This is why it’s so important to understand police procedures and all of the legal defense options you have if you are facing charges.
