POLS 354 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Fifth Amendment To The United States Constitution, Perjury
Document Summary
5th amendment - focus on right against self incrimination. Nor shall any person be compelled in a criminal case to be a witness against himself . Has to be applied by the government. Has to lead to self incrimination - giving evidence against yourself for incriminating behavior. If you"re forced by a private party, it"s not a violation. But you can voluntarily confess to any crime you want. Two situations in which the 5th amendment applies. The gov"t cannot make you testify if your testimony will incriminate you. Shows up most of all when you are the defendant in a case. Gov"t cannot make you take the witness stand. When the defendant does testify, it rarely works out well. If we force an individual who is guilty to take the witness stand in his own trial, he/she has only two choices: either admit to the crime or lie and commit perjury. Didn"t like when people in england did it.
