Fifth Amendment
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Submitted by blacksheep113 on 06/30/2008 05:21 PM
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Fifth Amendment
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law."
You've probably heard this somewhere before. It's one of the rights in the Miranda Warning, which is part of the Fifth Amendment. Basically the Fifth Amendment protects Americans against government abuse or government intrusion. The Fifth Amendment declares that there is no double jeopardy and a person does not have to testify against oneself.
The Fifth Amendment states that a person cannot be tried twice for the same crime. A person that has been considered not guilty would not be able to be tried again even if he or she can provide new evidence for that case. A person that has been considered guilty but has new evidence that proves his innocence he or she can be tried again.
The Fifth Amendment also states that no one has to testify against him or herself. Usually when someone declines to it's referred to as "taking the Fifth." The Fifth Amendment prohibits a person from being forced to provide testimony that could lead to charges against him or her. If there were no Fifth Amendment the suspect would be forced into incriminate him or herself. If a person chooses not to answer he or she can find him or her self in contempt of court and fined or imprisoned.
In the case of Miranda vs. Arizona, Miranda was charged with rape but he testified that he never got a lawyer while being questioned and he was not read his rights. This case eventually went to the Supreme Court.
Miranda had won the case and his charges were dropped but Arizona was not going to let a criminal go so easily. They charged him with robbery. He was sentenced to jail again.
The conclusion that Chief Justice Earl Warren made was that since most Americans do not know their rights, the law enforcement officers must tell them after they are arrested. The following are parts of the Miranda Warning.
1. You have the right to remain silent and...
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