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The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruledTuesday that youre not protected by the Fifth Amendment (self-incrimination) when a judge orders you to use your fingerprint to unlock your cellphone.

The court ruled in the case of Matthew Vaughn Diamond, who had been convicted by a jury of burglary and theft charges in the break-in of a home in Chaska.

A detective obtained a search warrant for Diamonds cellphone but was unable to unlock it, so a court ordered Diamond to use his fingerprint to unlock it.

Diamonds appeal is the first time a Minnesota appellate court has considered whether being forced to unlock a cellphone violates a right not to incriminate oneself.

Is it the same as being forced to testify against oneself? No, Judge Tracy Smith wrote on behalf of the three-judge panel in todays opinion.

In examining its application of Fifth Amendment principles, the Supreme Court has established that, in order to be testimonial, [a criminal defendants] communication must itself, explicitly or implicitly, relate a factual assertion or disclose information. Only then is a person compelled to be a witness against himself, she wrote.

Judge Smith said Diamond wasnt required to speak any knowledge of his guilt in being forced to unlock the phone.

Instead, the task that Diamond was compelled to perform to provide his fingerprint is no more testimonial than furnishing a blood sample, providing handwriting or voice exemplars, standing in a lineup, or wearing particular clothing, she ruled.

Diamonds attorney, however, argued that by unlocking the cellphone, he was providing incriminating information.

He was sentenced to 51 months in prison.

Bob Collins has been with Minnesota Public Radio since 1992, emigrating to Minnesota from Massachusetts. He was senior editor of news in the 90s, ran MPRs political unit, created the MPR News regional website, invented the popular Select A Candidate, started the two most popular blogs in the history of MPR and every day laments that his Minnesota Fantasy Legislature project never caught on.

NewsCut is a blog featuring observations about the news. It provides a forum for an online discussion and debate about events that might not typically make the front page. NewsCut posts are not news stories but reflections , observations, and debate.

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Court: No 5th Amendment protection against being forced to unlock ... - Minnesota Public Radio News (blog)