&gt; Do you really not understand how precedent works or are you being deliberately obtuse?<p>Please do not insult people on HN. This false dichotomy is offensive to me.<p>&gt; The criminal act being investigated is irrelevant. They want data on a device in their possession that they have permission to search. That is all that matters.<p>Then why are you concerned about precedent? They have met all of the requirements to search this device. Apple is impeding them for no good reason purely to advance their corporate interests.