Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifth Amendment ( Amendment V ) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights and, among other things, protects individuals from being compelled to be witnesses against themselves in criminal cases. " Pleading the Fifth " is thus a colloquial term for invoking the right that allows witnesses to decline to answer questions where the answers might incriminate them, and generally without having to suffer a penalty for asserting the right. This evidentiary privilege ensures that defendants cannot be compelled to become witnesses at their own trials. If, however, they choose to testify, they are not entitled to the right during cross-examination, where questions are relevant to their testimony on direct examination. [1] The Amendment requires that felonies be tried only upon indictment by a grand jury . Federal grand juries can force people to take the witness stand, but defendants in those proceedings have Fifth Amendment privileges until they choose to answer any question. To claim the privilege for failure to answer when being interviewed by police, the interviewee must have explicitly invoked the constitutional right when declining to answer questions.
Page Revisions
| Year | Metadata | Sections | Top Words | First Paragraph |
| 2018 |
247036 characters 32 sections 71 paragraphs 6 images 493 internal links 67 external links |
incrimination 0.286 jury 0.259 criminal 0.242 defendant 0.200 prosecution 0.190 grand 0.149 forfeiture 0.143 police 0.132 taxpayer 0.130 privilege 0.122 compelled 0.120 crime 0.120 confession 0.117 miranda 0.111 suspect 0.110 |
The Fifth Amendment ( Amendment V ) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights and, among other things, protects individuals from being compelled to be witnesses against themselves in criminal cases. " Pleading the Fifth " is thus a colloquial term for invoking the right that allows witnesses to decline to answer questions where the answers might incriminate them, and generally without having to suffer a penalty for asserting the right. This evidentiary privilege ensures that defendants cannot be compelled to become witnesses at their own trials. If, however, they choose to testify, they are not entitled to the right during cross-examination, where questions are relevant to their testimony on direct examination. [1] The Amendment requires that felonies be tried only upon indictment by a grand jury . Federal grand juries can force people to take the witness stand, but defendants in those proceedings have Fifth Amendment privileges until they choose to answer any question. To claim the privilege for failure to answer when being interviewed by police, the interviewee must have explicitly invoked the constitutional right when declining to answer questions. |
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| 2017 |
233596 characters 31 sections 68 paragraphs 6 images 481 internal links 61 external links |
incrimination 0.302 jury 0.273 privilege 0.198 criminal 0.191 prosecution 0.190 defendant 0.169 grand 0.158 taxpayer 0.137 compelled 0.126 confession 0.124 miranda 0.117 suspect 0.116 testimony 0.116 witness 0.114 jeopardy 0.110 |
The Fifth Amendment ( Amendment V ) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights and protects individuals from being compelled to be witnesses against themselves in criminal cases. " Pleading the Fifth " is a colloquial term for invoking the right that allows witnesses to decline to answer questions where the answers might incriminate them, and generally without having to suffer a penalty for asserting the right. This evidentiary privilege ensures that defendants cannot be compelled to become witnesses at their own trials. If, however, they choose to testify, they are not entitled to the right during cross-examination, where questions are relevant to their testimony on direct examination. [1] The Amendment requires that felonies be tried only upon indictment by a grand jury . Federal grand juries can force people to take the witness stand, but defendants in those proceedings have Fifth Amendment privileges until they choose to answer any question. To claim the privilege for failure to answer when being interviewed by police, the interviewee must have explicitly invoked the constitutional right when declining to answer questions. |
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| 2016 |
203003 characters 30 sections 62 paragraphs 5 images 466 internal links 55 external links |
incrimination 0.276 jury 0.261 criminal 0.203 prosecution 0.202 privilege 0.191 defendant 0.190 taxpayer 0.145 grand 0.145 confession 0.131 witness 0.129 compelled 0.126 miranda 0.124 suspect 0.123 income 0.116 police 0.107 |
The Fifth Amendment ( Amendment V ) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights and protects a person from being compelled to be a witness against himself in a criminal case. " Pleading the Fifth " is a colloquial term for invoking the privilege that allows a witness to decline to answer questions where the answers might incriminate him, and generally without having to suffer a penalty for asserting the privilege. A defendant cannot be compelled to become a witness at his own trial. If, however, he chooses to testify, he is not entitled to the privilege, and inferences can be drawn from a refusal to answer a question during cross-examination. The Amendment requires that felonies be tried only upon indictment by a grand jury . Federal grand juries can force people to take the witness stand, but defendants in those proceedings have Fifth Amendment privileges until they choose to answer any question. To claim the privilege for failure to answer when being interviewed by police, the interviewee must have explicitly invoked the constitutional right when declining to answer questions. |
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| 2015 |
199815 characters 28 sections 62 paragraphs 4 images 462 internal links 53 external links |
incrimination 0.262 jury 0.247 defendant 0.223 criminal 0.211 privilege 0.207 prosecution 0.202 suspect 0.181 taxpayer 0.138 grand 0.138 silence 0.130 police 0.125 confession 0.124 witness 0.123 income 0.110 miranda 0.106 |
The Fifth Amendment ( Amendment V ) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights and protects a person against being compelled to be a witness against himself or herself in a criminal case. " Pleading the Fifth " is a colloquial term for invoking the privilege that allows a witness to decline to answer questions where the answers might incriminate him or her, and generally without having to suffer a penalty for asserting the privilege. A defendant cannot be compelled to become a witness at his or her own trial. If, however, he or she should choose to testify, he or she is not entitled to the privilege, and inferences can be drawn from a refusal to answer a question during cross-examination. The Amendment requires that felonies be tried only upon indictment by a grand jury . Federal grand juries can force people to take the witness stand, but defendants in those proceedings have Fifth Amendment privilege until they choose to answer any question. To claim the privilege for failure to answer when being interviewed by police, the interviewee must have explicitly invoked their constitutional right when declining to answer questions. |
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| 2014 |
198575 characters 29 sections 63 paragraphs 4 images 458 internal links 50 external links |
incrimination 0.283 jury 0.253 defendant 0.218 prosecution 0.207 criminal 0.206 suspect 0.174 privilege 0.168 taxpayer 0.141 grand 0.134 silence 0.133 confession 0.127 police 0.120 income 0.113 miranda 0.109 crime 0.099 |
The Fifth Amendment ( Amendment V ) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights and protects against unfair treatment in legal processes. |
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| 2013 |
192442 characters 24 sections 62 paragraphs 3 images 449 internal links 49 external links |
incrimination 0.286 jury 0.247 defendant 0.231 criminal 0.209 prosecution 0.198 suspect 0.176 privilege 0.170 taxpayer 0.143 silence 0.134 confession 0.129 grand 0.128 police 0.121 income 0.114 miranda 0.110 amendment 0.100 |
The Fifth Amendment ( Amendment V ) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights and protects against abuse of government authority. |
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| 2012 |
177871 characters 21 sections 57 paragraphs 4 images 450 internal links 43 external links |
incrimination 0.258 jury 0.246 criminal 0.225 defendant 0.211 prosecution 0.199 taxpayer 0.161 confession 0.145 suspect 0.137 income 0.129 miranda 0.124 grand 0.121 police 0.119 indictments 0.113 questioning 0.112 witness 0.105 |
The Fifth Amendment ( Amendment V ) to the United States Constitution , which is part of the Bill of Rights , protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to Magna Carta in 1215. For instance, grand juries and the phrase due process (also found in the 14th Amendment ) both trace their origin to Magna Carta. |
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| 2011 |
136308 characters 19 sections 58 paragraphs 5 images 323 internal links 46 external links |
defendant 0.326 jury 0.251 incrimination 0.227 prosecution 0.209 criminal 0.191 acquittal 0.166 conviction 0.142 confession 0.136 trial 0.126 taxpayer 0.121 suspect 0.116 miranda 0.116 police 0.111 evidence 0.110 amendment 0.108 |
The Fifth Amendment ( Amendment V ) to the United States Constitution , which is part of the Bill of Rights , protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215. For instance, grand juries and the phrase due process (also found in the 14th Amendment) both trace their origin to the Magna Carta. |
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| 2010 |
126173 characters 19 sections 58 paragraphs 4 images 314 internal links 41 external links |
defendant 0.324 incrimination 0.249 jury 0.238 prosecution 0.204 acquittal 0.171 criminal 0.165 conviction 0.146 confession 0.140 suspect 0.132 trial 0.130 taxpayer 0.124 evidence 0.114 indictments 0.109 miranda 0.106 police 0.106 |
The Fifth Amendment ( Amendment V ) to the United States Constitution , which is part of the Bill of Rights , protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215. For instance, grand juries and the phrase " due process " both trace their origin to the Magna Carta. |
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| 2009 |
113957 characters 18 sections 54 paragraphs 4 images 294 internal links 27 external links |
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The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution , which is part of the Bill of Rights , protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215. For instance, grand juries and the phrase " due process " both trace their origin to the Magna Carta. |
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| 2008 |
105708 characters 16 sections 44 paragraphs 4 images 281 internal links 24 external links |
defendant 0.359 jury 0.263 prosecution 0.213 incrimination 0.207 acquittal 0.190 conviction 0.162 confession 0.138 taxpayer 0.138 criminal 0.137 trial 0.128 confessions 0.121 immunity 0.121 indictments 0.121 police 0.107 offenses 0.103 |
The Fifth Amendment ( Amendment V ) of the United States Constitution , which is part of the Bill of Rights , is related to legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law as established by Magna Carta in 1215. For instance, Grand Juries and the phrase " due process " both trace their origin to the Magna Carta. |
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| 2007 |
84996 characters 14 sections 44 paragraphs 2 images 283 internal links 14 external links |
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Amendment V (the Fifth Amendment ) of the United States Constitution , which is part of the Bill of Rights , is related to legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law as established by Magna Carta in 1215 . For instance, grand juries and the phrase " due process " both trace their origin to the Magna Carta. |
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| 2006 |
71402 characters 14 sections 38 paragraphs 0 images 244 internal links 9 external links |
defendant 0.383 jury 0.266 prosecution 0.221 acquittal 0.210 conviction 0.180 taxpayer 0.153 trial 0.142 confession 0.134 indictments 0.134 jeopardy 0.134 offense 0.118 immunity 0.115 incrimination 0.115 offenses 0.115 criminal 0.114 |
Template:USBillofRights Amendment V (the Fifth Amendment ) of the United States Constitution , which is part of the Bill of Rights , is related to legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law as established by Magna Carta in 1215 . For instance, grand juries and the phrase " due process " both trace their origin to Magna Carta. |
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| 2005 |
64452 characters 8 sections 36 paragraphs 0 images 231 internal links 2 external links |
defendant 0.381 jury 0.278 acquittal 0.209 prosecution 0.205 conviction 0.179 jeopardy 0.152 taxpayer 0.152 trial 0.141 confession 0.133 indictments 0.133 offense 0.117 immunity 0.114 incrimination 0.114 offenses 0.114 criminal 0.114 |
Amendment V (the Fifth Amendment ) of the United States Constitution , which is part of the Bill of Rights , is related to legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law . For instance, grand juries and the phrase "due process" both trace their origin to common law. |
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| 2004 |
52475 characters 7 sections 27 paragraphs 0 images 208 internal links 2 external links |
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The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution , which is part of the Bill of Rights , guarantees several protections related to legal procedure. Many of these guarantees stem from English common law. For instance, grand juries and the phrase "due process" both trace their origin to common law. |
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| 2003 |
3544 characters 0 sections 4 paragraphs 0 images 13 internal links 0 external links |
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Amendment V (the Fifth Amendment ) of the United States Constitution , which is part of the Bill of Rights , states: |
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| 2002 |
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No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. |
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| 2001 |
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No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. |