[brandon272]

> In the other, the data is inaccessible and the government is aware it is inaccessible.

Because the person made it inaccessible with the intention of concealing it from law enforcement and others. There is still a means to decrypt the data.

All of the actions described in this thread - whether it's decoy passwords, encrypted volumes with headers, burner devices, or wiping data and then restoring at the destination, all seem like they could be construed by law enforcement as a person obstructing their ability to sift through the individual's data.

(But IANAL either.)