Fifth Amendment

The fifth amendment states...
      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.


What it means to me...
      This amendment helps to protect us from the abuse of government authority in legal procedures, such as trials by jury. No person can be tried for a serious crime, except in a military setting, without written accusation from a Grand Jury first. Also, this amendment states that we have property rights that cannot be taken away, specifically by the government. This is known as the takings clause.

The following is a video relating to our rights given to us by the 5th amendment...

  In this video, Stewart Parnell, owner of the Peanut Corp. of America, pleads the 5th amendment and thus refuses to answer any questions directed to him and his colleague during a House Energy & Commerce Commitee hearing on the nationwide salmonella outbreak. Basically, every question that is directed at him he refuses to answer at risk of exposing his company and revealing to the media they actually did ship products that were made with ingredients that were contaminated with the salmonella virus.

The following is a political cartoon illustrating the fifth amendment...

This cartoon illustrates how we as Americans cannot be forced to answer to higher figures, such as Government or, as seen in the cartoon above, teachers. The boy is asking if the fifth amendment applies to report cards, and if he has the right to not have to show his report card, which we assume is not very good, to anyone, especially his teachers, principal, and parents.