Apple says Constitution 'forbids' what FBI is asking - CNET

"The govement attempts to rewrite history by portraying the Act as an all-powerful magic wand rather than the limited procedural tool it is," Apple said in its latest filing. "This Court should reject that request, because the All Writs Act does not authorize such relief, and the Constitution forbids it."

While noting the tragedy of the terrorist attacks, the Cupertino, Califoia-based tech giant argued that civil liberties should not be sacrificed in favor of the govement's investigative expedience.

"This case arises in a difficult context after a terrible tragedy," Apple said. "But it is in just such highly-charged and emotional cases that the courts must zealously guard civil liberties and the rule of law and reject govement overreaching. This Court should therefore deny the govement's request and vacate the order."

Apple and the US govement have been battling for weeks over the extent to which Apple should help pull data from an iPhone tied to December's San Beardino massacre. Apple has been resisting a February 16 federal court order to unlock the iPhone 5C used by one of the San Beardino terrorists.

The FBI wants Apple to create a special version of its mobile software to help access data on an iPhone used by Syed Farook, one of two terrorists who killed 14 people and wounded 20 others. Apple, which said it has already helped the FBI as much as it can, contends the court doesn't have the authority to force it to write a special version of iOS, and the company has tued this into a broader debate over personal privacy, one that has drawn the tech industry to its side.

Apple on Tuesday also submitted a statement from Craig Federighi, Apple's head of software, in which he says "Apple designed the iPhone with users' security in mind." He noted that Apple has never made any data more technologically accessible to any country's govement. "It is my understanding," he said, "that Apple has never worked with any govement agency from any country to create a 'backdoor' in any of our products or services."

The Justice Department declined to comment Tuesday, saying it will argue the case next week.

The filing is Apple's last before a hearing to discuss the standoff set for March 22 in federal court in Riverside, Califoia.

The company's latest filing comes in response to a brief by the Justice Department from March 10 that argued why Apple should comply with the order. In its 43-page document, the Justice Department took a harsher tone than before, accusing Apple of lying and using "corrosive" rhetoric in its public Idea and court filings. The Justice Department said complying with the FBI's request wouldn't be an "undue burden" for Apple. The govement also said Apple "deliberately raised technological barriers that now stand between a lawful warrant and an iPhone containing evidence related to the terrorist mass murder of 14 Americans."

Apple's top attoey, general counsel Bruce Sewell, fired back later that day during a call with reporters. He dubbed the Justice Department's filing a "cheap shot" and said it "read like an indictment." "In 30 years of practice, I don't think I've ever seen a legal brief that was more intended to smear the other side with false accusations and innuendo, and less intended to focus on the real merits of the case," Sewell said. "I can only conclude the DOJ is so desperate at this point it's thrown all decorum to the winds."