The Fifth Amendment protects US citizens from self-incrimination. It applies to witness situations, where the person must assert the privilege. It can be used in grand juries or congressional hearings, but not for non-witness forms of self-incrimination. The person must expressly state they are not willing to testify to enforce the Fifth. If not asserted, it cannot be used later in the same matter.
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution was drafted with the intention of protecting citizens from being forced to indict themselves. When someone invokes this privilege, he is said to be choosing to “plead the Fifth.” The Fifth Amendment applies only to situations where the incriminating evidence is of a witness nature. The person must expressly assert the privilege in the appropriate situation. If he fails to assert the privilege when he is compelled to testify in one situation, he waives the right to do so in any subsequent circumstance in which he is asked to testify on the same matter.
For the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination to apply, the situation must require that the person incriminate themselves in a way that is testimonial in nature. For example, if a person is called before a grand jury to offer testimony regarding an illegal transaction she made, she can plead the Fifth to avoid making incriminating statements. It doesn’t have to be a court to apply the Fifth Amendment; the person can assert the privilege if asked to also testify at a congressional hearing. However, it does not apply to non-witness forms of self-incrimination, such as urine tests or fingerprinting.
In order for the Quinta to be enforced, the person must expressly state that they are not willing to testify, as this will result in making self-incriminating statements. He can assert privilege while on the witness stand or simply refuse to testify in a case where he is a criminal defendant. The judge cannot compel him to testify until there is a reasonable possibility that he will make a self-incriminating statement.
If someone does not assert this privilege in any proceeding, he cannot later assert it when asked to testify on the same matter. For example, if a person testifies in a trial about how he bought drugs from the defendant, he cannot later refuse to do so while he is on the witness stand at his own trial for possession of the same drugs. Once a person testifies on any matter, he waives his Fifth Amendment rights in the future.
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