The Fifth Amendment

"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger, nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

The fifth amendment protects citizens from a government that might harass them.  This amendment is really important to the rights of the people in committing crimes.  This amendment does many things, it protects us from self incrimination (but not confessing to a crime), the right to due process - government action must never be improper or unfair.  It must strictly follow the rules and steps set down by the law.  Out of the fifth amendment came the Miranda Rights (the ones we see on the television shows like Law and Order), rights that must be read to someone when you are charging them of a crime.  It also states the rights of Imminent Domain, where the state and federal government must compensate former owners of private property a "full and perfect equivalent" for what was taken.


Stephen Colbert Pleading the Fifth

I couldn't get this video in this post, but there is a link to the video on the Daily Show's website.  It basically shows Stephen Colbert invoking his fifth amendment rights when Jon Stewart asks him about his show.

This cartoon is just a funny way of looking at the rights allowed by the fifth amendment and the right against self incrimination.