At this moment, it appears that the politics of the situation are shifting away from the FBI seeing a victory. Apple, Google, and other tech companies (AT&T excluded) are strongly opposed to the DOJ's interpretation of All Writs. Based on last week's hearings, Congress is either opposed or lukewarm (at best) to broadly interpreting it. And last week saw Ornstein's ruling come down pretty strongly against the government.

There may be new laws that eventually come out as a result of this, but for now I think smart money would be on betting against the FBI coming out on top in their current attempts to force Apple to unlock the San Bernadino murderer's iPhone 5.

It's a pleasant surprise to note that on this matter the system seems to be working.