Rawls, a former Philadelphia officer, was first investigated by a suburban Philadelphia police department. In March 2015, authorities seized his computer but were not able to unlock the encrypted files. In a police forensics laboratory, Rawls attempted to use several passwords, but said he could not remember the correct one. He won a state court contempt hearing on self-incrimination grounds, but the case was moved to federal court, where authorities argued that someone can be compelled to surrender evidence when authorities are aware of its existence, the so-called “foregone conclusion” exception. A federal judge accepted this argument and jailed Rawls for contempt of court in October.
Kit Walsh, a staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, wrote in a brief that authorities were forcing a choice that the Fifth Amendment is intended to protect against, between perjury, self-incrimination or contempt.
As a former officer, Rawls is being held in solitary confinement for his own protection. He has never been charged with a crime.
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