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0 pointsdragonwriter12y ago0 comments

  Well, in America we have widespread political and legal 
  illiteracy as well. I'm not talking about citizens not 
  reading the Constitution, I'm talking about most people 
  being unable to paraphrase the Fifth Amendment when asked. 
  Aside from "plead the fifth" most people in America 
  probably couldn't tell you what the amendment means. Yes, 
  it applies to more than just courts. You won't be held to 
  incriminate yourself, your property can't be unjustly 
  seized without compensation, you must have due process and 
  a jury, etc. etc. etc.

The right to a jury trial is not actually present anywhere in the Fifth Amendment. (For criminal cases, it is in the Sixth Amendment, for certain civil cases, it is in the Seventh Amendment.)

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dylangs103012y ago· 1 in thread

You're right, my phrasing was unclear. Specifically, the Fifth Amendment clauses the right to silence in the face of an accusation unless you're at a court proceeding ("grand jury") - this ties in to not necessarily needing to respond to law enforcement questioning. I could have just stopped at due process, I was rambling :)

dragonwriterOP12y ago

The Fifth Amendment right not to be a witness against yourself applies in court proceedings and certainly includes the right to silence in court proceedings in a criminal case. The grand jury provision in the Fifth is in reference to being charged with a serious crime, not an exception to the right of silence.

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