American law outlines a series of protections for those accused of crimes but not yet convicted. (Like the 4th-6th amendments)
Does your country have any unique/novel protections of the rights of potentially innocent people accused but yet to be convicted?
If not are there any protections you think should be in place?
The legal rights come into play exactly when the police come into the picture.
All of these are included in the 5th (except for subpoena of non-spouse family, but as a practical matter prosecution has a hard time forcing an unwilling family member to testify in any useful way), and on top of it the Miranda warning requirement exists to inform people of the rights. A lot of people just have a really, really difficult time shutting their mouths even when told to.
I can hardly believe that, since I have read (not in movies) about cases when prosecution has forced accused people to give them passwords etc.
Circumstances? Passwords are contents of the mind, and therefore protected under the 5th. Someone in a situation where they are accused or under investigation has the 5th to fall back on.
There have been cases recently about the legality of forcing thumbprints on biometrically locked phones, under the theory that a thumbprint is a physical attribute and not something kept in the mind (so you know, lesson there is to keep using a old fashioned passcode). Otherwise, someone on bond or parole or something may have a condition of their arrangement be to allow their devices to be searched. Refusing that is a matter of breaking an agreement made in court.
Or contents of a piece of paper.
Outrageous. This is taking away the defendant’s rights. Nobody can ever believe that he made this decision of his own free will.
In the context of the discussion, I don’t know what you are getting at here.
But compelling someone to say or type in a password is something where they could assert the 5th. If the police find the password written down on a piece of paper and then type it in themselves over the protest of the defendant, that is not a 5th amendment violation. That’s just using a piece of physical evidence.
This was my speculation on how I imagine it could possibly happen, as you say you have seen it written about. I have never seen it happen as a condition this way, but if you provide more detail I can be more precise in answering.
But if it is say in another hypothetical, a condition on a deferred sentence, then at that point guilt has already been established and a the deferment is an alternative option from the baseline of prison. Again, some specific links to this happening would really help sort what it is you’re seeing.
I was implicitly asking if it would be any different then, in your legislation. For example, can they ask him for the paper where the password is written?
A person is free to not answer any question. They can sit there completely silent.
No, that’s not what I meant.
You said above > Passwords are contents of the mind, and therefore protected
So I am asking, isn’t it protected in the same way if it is a content of a piece of paper in the defendant’s possession?
Can they force him to give it to them, to tell them where it is, to confirm if it is his own piece of paper etc.
No, but they can get a warrant to search his property and find the paper on their own.
The knowledge of the location of the paper is a content of the mind. The defendant does not have to answer any question.