I'm doing a project on the Amendments of the Constitution and I can't find out what it means to be a witness against yourself. It's in Amendment five if that helps.
2006-12-17 05:36:25 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
It means testifying about something you did that's illegal.
2006-12-17 05:38:12 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
To Testify Against Oneself
2016-11-10 08:46:15 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you testify in court, you do so under oath. You are swearing that what you say is the truth, and if it is found out later that you did not tell the truth while under oath, there are severe penalties (unless you were the President of the United States, but that is a different issue).
Anyway, being a witness against yourself would mean that the prosecution just calls you up and asks you, under oath, "Did you committ the crime?" If you say no, and it is shown later that you were not truthful, you would be subject to the penalty for the original crime, as well as for not being truthful under oath.
The prosecution has to prove their case, that you did do whatever you are accused of. You do not have to prove that you did not. They also cannot make you tell, under oath, that you did the crime, and use that as proof for their case.
2006-12-17 05:43:55 · answer #3 · answered by Joe B 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Basically, it means you can refuse to answer questions, and, by legal standards, that refusal can't be used to infer or assume that you did something wrong.
Since you take an oath to tell the truth, you can't be forced to answer and put yourself into a catch-22: be punished for not answering, or be punished for not answering truthfully, or be forced to testify in a way that would be testifying against your own interests.
2006-12-17 05:44:47 · answer #4 · answered by ? 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You cannot testify against yourself (or be a witness against yourself), as you are given a fair trial
2006-12-17 05:40:40 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Self-Incrimination
2006-12-17 05:39:29 · answer #6 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In court they call it pleading the Fifth, which means you have the right to not incriminate yourself.
2006-12-17 05:40:24 · answer #7 · answered by upside down 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
hi
that means that you have no relatives or friends to take up for you
2006-12-17 05:40:29 · answer #8 · answered by mysterious 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋