The New Jersey Appellate Division reversed the lower court’s order that denied the State’s motion to compel a cell phone passcode from the defendant. The Appellate Division applied the holding of State v. Andrews and ruled that the lower court “articulated the incorrect standard for evaluating a motion to compel a passcode. The proper foregone conclusion standard, under Andrews, requires the State to prove the existence of the passcode, not the evidence it seeks to find on the device.” Furthermore, the lower court’s finding on the ownership element of the foregone conclusion test was contrary to the weight of the evidence.
