Questions tagged [fifth-amendment]
Rights enumerated in or derived from the fifth amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
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Staying silent in Aus
According to If applied in the United States, what is the most obvious legally functional difference between the British and American "mirandizing" phrase? and the answers to that question, ...
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Why is it punishable to refuse to sign a traffic ticket in some states in the United States?
In the United States, the 5th amendment instates the absolute right to not be forced to testify against oneself.
With this being said, states such as California and Pennsylvania, it can be a crime to ...
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Details of David Pecker's immunity contract
Is the contract granting David Pecker's immunity in the current criminal trial of Donald Trump public?
After being subpoenaed, I assume Pecker felt that the same evidence would come out whether he ...
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Is a judge or jury "to assume or presume" testimony not given after invoking the fifth amendment would have been negative in a civil trial?
In CNN's ‘Very bad strategy’: Legal expert reacts to Trump’s latest attack on judge after 03:11 there's the following exchange with former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti:
CNN: And of course, when ...
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Does double jeopardy apply if you commit the same crime twice?
Suppose someone were to rob a convenience store, be charged with robbery, then be found not guilty in court. After they are found innocent, that same person robs the same convenience store again. ...
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Has New Jersey v. Andrews ever been successfully challenged?
New Jersey v. Andrews is relatively new case law. Has it ever been successfully challenged at the district court level?
I'm aware of several cases where the state has seized a citizen's smartphone ...
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Can a defendant remain silent (invoke 5th amendment) during cross examination?
Suppose a defendant testifies at a criminal trial and is advised beforehand that the prosecution has a right to cross examine him. Suppose the defendant answers all of his lawyer's questions on direct ...
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Are authorities allowed to use technology to read your mind? [closed]
If a technology that reads minds existed, would it be legal for authorities in the United States to use that technology to extract incriminating information from a defendant's mind against their will?
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Call from detective [closed]
say hypothetically someone committed a the crime of stealing a public sign and being publicly intoxicated under the age of 21..
The next day a detective calls asking to talk in person and says they &...
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Why is knowledge inside one's head considered privileged information but knowledge written on a piece of paper is not?
At least in the US, one can refuse to reveal information contained inside one's head by pleading the Fifth Amendment. However, the same protections don't apply to papers (or computer files) with ...
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What's stopping someone from saying "I don't remember"?
There are (at least) two problems possibly stemming from a person testifying in court:
If they tell the truth, the testimony may have negative consequences they potentially don't like (which is the ...
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Can an attorney plead the 5th if attorney-client privilege is pierced?
In the investigation related to Mar-a-Lago, the Justice Department is seeking to pierce attorney-client privilege relating to several bits of testimony and discovery items they're seeking from Trump's ...
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When you plead the 5th and a Judge asks you questions about it, is that conversation considered privileged?
If you invoke the right to not self-incriminate when testifying and the judge asks you questions in regards to whether you fear of incriminating yourself is reasonable.
Is that conversation considered ...
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If the police ask you a question, what response can you make that can't be used as evidence against you?
For one reason or another, a police officer has just asked you a question, and you've wisely decided not to provide any response that could be used against you in court. What can you say or do that ...
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Is the saying that "cops can use anything you say against you" overstated or understated?
Is everything one says to a cop in the course of an enquiry really admissable as evidence against them? Even if they deny allegations? Why is that?
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Can someone be prosecuted for perjury after being given immunity on the grounds that they falsely pleaded the fifth?
Let's say that person A is being questioned in court and is asked where they were on the night of April 1st. Person A pleads the fifth, is given immunity, and is compelled to testify. Upon person A ...
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How is Biden’s lawyers turning the documents over not a material breach of client-attorney confidentiality and a violation of the 5th, 6th Amendments?
If a client confessed to plans, in-going activity or intent to commit a crime, an attorney may disengage.
I would argue imposing a duty on an attorney to disclose their reasons if it requires court ...
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Defendant's Cherry-Picking
In Discovery, "the prosecutor is obligated to provide to the defendant any information that is exculpatory or potentially exculpatory".
I am looking for cases where the defendant, on the ...
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Can a foreigner invoke the fifth amendment?
Bob is a non-US citizen and is visiting the USA on a tourist visa. During his visit, he broke a US law. Law enforcement is unaware of that crime. While breaking the law, he is also a witness to some ...
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Can a witness refuse to answer a question in a civil proceeding if it would incriminate her on a unrelated criminal matter?
Basically the title. I saw on a lawyer drama that a witness was compelled to answer because it was not a criminal case. But if the truthful answer uncovers a criminal matter that would incriminate the ...
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How are sanctions on individuals consistent with the 5th Amendment?
There is a lot in the news these days about ultra-wealthy Russians being sanctioned, their assets frozen, and their private jets and boats seized. I'm curious about the constitutional justification of ...
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Are defendants legally obliged to provide all culpatory evidence to prosecution?
There is a similar question that doesn't address this one. The question here is whether or not all evidence requested by prosecution must be provided by the defense? If the defense plans on only using ...
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Can evidence a person gives to aid an investigation then be used to prosecute that person for an unrelated crime?
Consider the following scenario: a person consents to giving some evidence to aid the investigation or prosecution of a criminal,with the reasonable, good-faith assumption that the use of that ...
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Legality of IRS requiring taxpayers to swear to statements
The IRS requires taxpayers to swear under "penalties of perjury" to their statements and figures given concerning their income. Since obviously this constitutes a potential incrimination, it ...
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Can you plead the 5th in a civil case?
There seems to be the idea that the right not to self-incriminate does not apply to civil cases. Is that true?
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How does Miranda rights work in regards to sign-language?
If a person were to be interviewed by police and he responded in sign-language. What he said turn out to be false. In court his lawyer argued what he said could not be used against him because he did ...
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Can your silence be used against you?
Miranda rights say you have the right to remain silent and that anything you say can be used against you. My question is, can the exercise of this right be used against you at a trial? It seems that ...
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Fifth Amendment privileges v. Sixth Amendment privileges in criminal trials
I'm quite confident that all users on Law StackExchange are well acquainted with the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution, which confers the privilege against self-incrimination upon witnesses as well ...
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How does a witness get an attorney?
Someone who was with George Floyd the day he was killed pleaded the Fifth (source).
The Hennepin County Public Defender's Office filed the notice on behalf of Morries Hall, who was sitting in the ...
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Alternatives to pleading the 5th that also offers protection
I watched a old video (Don't talk to Police) that popped up while looking up information related to cyber forensics and false positives. I gathered the following points:
You can't talk your way out ...
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Alternative systems without the Right to Remain Silent
As I understand it, the "Right to Remain Silent" errs on the side of innocence in the USA justice system.
Jurors are usually supposed to rule as if the defendant testified in the manner ...
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Could I create doubt of a crime by having multuple people suggest, but not actually claim, that they were the murderer?
Let's say hypothetically I'm a member of some gang and just killed a member of a rival gang. I've been accused of murder and taken to trail. My fellow gang members want to help me get off, but not ...
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Can I surprise the prosecution with an alibi defense at trial?
Let's say I've been accused of a murder. Throughout the investigation I've plead the Fifth as to where I was when the crime happened. Eventually I'm put on trial, still pleading the fifth as to my ...
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Is the United States federal income tax an indirect tax under the 5th amendment?
I'm no American citizen, so I don't know that much about all the ins and outs of the Constitution. I've been watching a movie where one of the characters called the federal income tax "...
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Arizona law requires you to admit to carrying a firearm. Would that be admissible evidence?
This question describes an Arizona law which requires a person stopped by the police to answer honestly when asked if they have a concealed deadly weapon.
Suppose that someone in Arizona is carrying ...
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Lawyer-approved statement to say to the police to unequivocally retain all rights
I understand that I have the right to remain silent, and that I shouldn't need to explicitly say that in order for my rights to be in effect. But we don't live in a perfect world. And should we end up ...
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Does the U.S. Fifth Amendment prevent one from being tried again for the same crime?
I have a question about the Fifth Amendment.
Imagine I committed a crime but I was acquitted at trial. After some time, some new evidence came up showing that I did do it. Does the Fifth Amendment say ...
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What legal recourse do we have against Clearview AI's collection of our personal data and terrifying privacy policy?
TL;DR: how do we get the data this company collected on us without also giving them our government-issued IDs that they could potentially keep and tie to our "profiles"?
A week ago (January ...
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What kinds of sanctions would be applied if you wrongly invoked the Fifth Amendment?
Under the Fifth Amendment, one might say at a hearing, "I refuse to answer on the grounds that it would incriminate me." Suppose the subject matter were embarrassing, but not necessarily criminal. ...
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Would a confession obtained via Wonder Woman's Magic Lasso be admissible in US court, or any court?
There's a scene in Justice League (the movie from 2017) where a policewoman is taking down the stories of three criminals who are wrapped in in Wonder Woman's magic Lasso.
The Lasso does a couple of ...
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What happens if a person has evidence that an accused party is innocent, but to give that evidence would be self-incriminatory?
Suppose that Person A is accused of a crime. Person B (unbeknownst to anybody but themselves) actually committed the crime. Suppose further that Person B is called as a witness in the case of Person A....
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USA: Can a witness take the 5th to avoid perjury?
Lawyer Alice is questioning witness Bob. Bob is not on trial, and no one has accused him of a crime. Alice demands Bob answer a particular question with either a "Yes" or a "no." Bob believes that ...
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Claiming self-defense and refusing to self-incriminate at the same time
Bob shoots Rob dead. Noone saw what actually happened, no video footage, nothing. Bob does not deny shooting Rob but claims it was self-defense. He does not go into details — invoking his right not to ...
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What do you do when the truth is something that can be proven false beyond a reasonable doubt?
Suppose you firmly believe something to be true but you know that it can be proven false beyond a reasonable doubt. This can happen if, for example, you witnessed something that is incredibly unusual. ...
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Can defense request findings of fact before resting?
Hypothetical scenario: A victim is identified with documented injuries consistent with having been struck with a weapon. The police find and charge a person (now "Defendant") that they claim ...
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Does the 5th Amendment only apply to federal government
The 5th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States says
No person shall be held to answer for a... crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury..., nor be deprived of life, ...
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Can reporting illegal income be used as incriminating evidence? [duplicate]
As we all know, in the United States it is required to report and pay taxes on income obtained illegally. Can the fact that this income is mentioned on a person's tax return be used as evidence that ...
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Suspending White House hard pass & preliminary injunction
Jim Acosta was asked by the Secret Service to surrender a White House hard pass as the result of an altercation in a press event. The White House press secretary explained that it being suspended ...
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How does the mandate to report income from illegal activities in the US jibe with the Fifth Amendment?
Al Capone was famously taken down for tax evasion for not reporting income from his illegal activities. If someone were to report the income from illegal activities like a marijuana dispensary or a ...
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Suppose an effective truth serum existed. Could defendants in the following situations have their confessions ruled inadmissable?
Suppose a "Hollywood style" truth serum existed, whereby if a person is given the serum, that person is compelled to truthfully answer any question put to them.
The following facts are true in all of ...
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