A federal magistrate judge in Brooklyn took an admirable stand last week when he questioned the government’s authority to compel Apple to unlock a seized mobile device using the All Writs Act. That’s a general-purpose law passed in 1789 that allows a court to require third parties’ assistance to execute a prior order of the court. Apple cannot be automatically conscripted in government investigations, wrote Magistrate Judge James Orenstein of the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, because it is “a private-sector company that is free to choose to promote its customers' interest in privacy over the competing interest of law enforcement.” Orenstein’s order isn’t the end of the story, but it’s encouraging to see a court recognize the limits of government power, even in the face of the not-so-absolute All Writs Act.