Your Rights if Police Demand Your Phone PIN

Your smartphone is a pocket‑sized diary, photo album, bank, and filing cabinet. When an officer asks for the code that unlocks all that data, the stakes are enormous—not just for the current investigation but for your long‑term privacy and even your future employment. Maryland residents need to know if they can refuse and how the Fifth Amendment applies.

Fifth Amendment basics: testimonial versus physical evidence

The Fifth Amendment protects you from being forced to give “testimonial” evidence—anything that reveals the contents of your mind. Courts have long drawn a line between handing over a physical key (usually allowed) and revealing a combination remembered only in your head (usually protected).

A phone PIN sits on the testimonial side of that divide because reciting or typing it confirms you know it and that it unlocks incriminating material. The Eleventh Circuit made that point in 2012 when it blocked prosecutors from compelling a suspect to decrypt seized drives, likening the request to forcing a suspect to talk.

How Maryland courts have approached digital privacy

Maryland’s appellate courts have not yet squarely answered the question of whether police can force you to reveal a phone PIN, but they have shown a willingness to scrutinize digital searches.

In Richardson v. State, 481 Md. 423 (2022), the state’s highest court upheld a cellphone warrant after emphasizing the importance of particularity in digital searches—highlighting how Maryland courts apply strict scrutiny to warrants involving smartphones. That cautious approach suggests Maryland judges may be receptive to arguments that a compelled passcode violates both state and federal constitutional rights.

Lessons from other states

Because Maryland lacks a definitive ruling, looking elsewhere offers clues.

• New Jersey: In State v. Andrews (2020) the state’s supreme court ordered a defendant to disclose iPhone passwords, citing the “foregone conclusion” exemption to the Fifth Amendment.
• Massachusetts: The Commonwealth (v. Gelfgatt (2014) and later Commonwealth v. Dennis Jones (2019) decisions allow compelled decryption if prosecutors prove, before the request, that the suspect knows the password.
  
• Florida: A.Q.L. v. State of Florida moved the other way, holding that forcing a suspect to reveal a code violates the Fifth Amendment.
  
• C. Circuit (federal): United States v. Brown, (2025) found a Fifth Amendment violation when police pressured a suspect to share swipe patterns and codes.

These inconsistent rulings mean the U.S. Supreme Court will need to settle the issue.

Can you refuse to provide your phone PIN?

Right now in Maryland, you may invoke the Fifth Amendment and refuse to disclose your phone PIN, but the law is still developing and outcomes may vary depending on specific facts and judicial interpretation. Nevertheless, officers may threaten contempt or seek a grant of immunity. If immunity is offered, a judge could still compel entry of the code on the theory that your testimony would no longer incriminate you. Whether that order survives appeal depends on how Maryland applies the “foregone conclusion” test that certain other states apply.

Biometrics are a different story

Courts draw a sharp line between remembering a passcode and placing a finger on a sensor. Many judges say fingerprints and face scans are the functional equivalent of giving a DNA sample or standing in a lineup—non‑testimonial physical evidence. In practice that means Face ID and Touch ID may offer less protection than a six‑digit phone PIN. Disabling biometrics could mean better Fifth Amendment protections.

Roadside stops and vehicle searches

Maryland police can examine a phone only with a warrant or a recognized exception, such as consent or “exigent circumstances.” A cracked screen showing open texts in plain view might qualify, but a locked phone does not. The U.S. Supreme Court’s Riley v. California decision already requires warrants for phone data; giving up your phone PIN without a warrant turns a routine stop into a wide‑open search.

Border crossings and federal facilities

At the U.S. border, officers enjoy greater power. They can scroll through your device under the federal “border search” doctrine. They may inspect your device without a warrant under the border search exception, but compelling you to reveal a passcode is more legally complex and likely requires either your consent or a court order. If agents push, politely decline, ask to speak with counsel, and remember that refusing may result in temporary detention of the device—not criminal charges.

Practical tips for encounters with the Maryland police

1. Stay calm and polite. Rudeness invites escalation.
2. Ask if you are free to go. If yes, leave. If not, say, “I wish to remain silent and speak with a lawyer.”
3. Never volunteer the code. Silence is easier to defend later than a consent you can’t retract.
4. Keep devices updated. Newer iOS and Android versions resist forensic tools longer, buying time for lawyers to fight any warrant.
5. Use a strong phone PIN, not biometrics. Six random digits beat a face scan under current law.
6. Back up and encrypt sensitive data off devices. Even if the hardware is seized, you still control the information.

Why acting quickly matters

If officers seize your handset and then obtain a decryption order, you will face a choice: comply, fight it out in court (and risk contempt of court charges), or negotiate immunity. Early intervention by counsel can challenge the warrant itself, contest “foregone conclusion” claims, and argue that Maryland’s Declaration of Rights offers broader protection than the U.S. Constitution. Never forget that what you do after an arrest is critically important.

Technology moves faster than the law

Cloud backups, encrypted messaging, and remote‑wipe features complicate the legal landscape. A judge might compel you to unlock local storage yet still need a separate order for iCloud or Google servers. Until appellate courts harmonize these issues, treat any police demand for your phone PIN as a red‑alert moment to invoke your rights and call counsel immediately.

Call Carey Law Office before you give up your code

For over four decades, Joseph Carey has protected people in Maryland, including Bowie, Dunkirk, and across Calvert County against aggressive police tactics.The team at Carey Law Office knows the latest digital‑privacy cases, appears regularly in local courts, and offers free consultations to review your situation without delay. If officers want your phone PIN, reach out the moment the cuffs come off—experienced counsel is the best password protection you can choose.