LIKE GTGT SAID ONCE THEY DO IT, ITS OVER. BUT THE FBI WOULD NOT JUST TURN THE PHONE OVER WITHOUT A TECH AGENT GOING WITH IT AND KEEPING EYES ON THE PHONE. ROB COULD ANSWER THIS, BUT ARENT THERE RULES FOR COMPILING EVIDENCE?
Different jurisdictions have different rules for evidence. I'm not familiar with the Federal guidelines, but generally there must be a "Chain of Custody" established. This chain would show each and every person who had physical control over the evidence and what if anything they did with the evidence (forensic testing, etc.).
You really have to look at what exactly the FBI is asking from APPLE in this case. They want APPLE's assistance in disabling certain security features built into the Phone and it's OS that would allow the FBI to unlock and view it's personal data. The FBI has already screwed up in that they destroyed the ICloud account for the phone by changing it's password which erased the stored data in the ICloud account uploaded from the phone.
What they're asking for basically is a new OS to be installed on this phone that would allow them to circumvent the security features and encryption already on the phone. This would involve Apple in writing a new OS to install on the phone, that's a pretty big investment in time, resources for Apple, OS's aren't written overnight. Would/Should the Feds foot the bill, or expect Apple to do it for free? The FBI claims they only want it for this particular phone, but if it is written, what's to stop them from taking it, hacking it and using it to access other phones. It's also interesting that they want this OS to be able to be installed on the phone by both wired and unwired (WiFi, Bluetooth or over cell network). Why those capabilities? Seems to me they'd only need the wired method for a phone under their physical control, unless they're looking to eventually have it be used on a phone other than one they have physical control over...