The Fifth Amendment is the amendment to the Constitution of the United State of America, the Amendment was part of the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights includes the first 10 Amendments to the United States Constitution which were formally adopted in the year 1791 and derives from the Magna Carta the English Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is drafted by Congress Man James Madison. The Fifth Amendment grants certain safeguards to protect the interest of citizens meanwhile also protect the officers on duty.

The Fifth Amendment says that; “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.”

In a Nutshell, the Fifth Amendment can be divided into five categories –

• Grand Jury
• Double Jeopardy
• Self-Incrimination
• Due Process of Law
• Compensation

For a better and simplified understanding of the Fifth Amendment, let us look at each category one by one –

• Grand Jury – The first part of the amendment states that “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;”

In simple language, Grand Jury is a group of people (16-23) who are unknown to the accused and thereby listen to the case presented by the accused and examine the evidence produced by the State. The Grand Jury on such examination then announces an indictment (keynote – the Jury cannot produce verdict it can only produce indictment). In layman language, indictment means a formal charge or accusation of a serious crime. After the indictment passed by the Jury, the accused becomes a Defendant.

The Fifth Amendment is only applied to Federal Felonies of “capital” and “infamous crime” this means any crime having a penalty for more than one year or a crime that has the sentence of the death penalty. Certain crimes that are exempted from this are charges dealing with land, navy, or military forces during the service of war or public danger. Every accused has a right to plead the 5^th Amendment and present their case in front of a Grand Jury. When the Jury is convinced that the state has enough evidence to commence a trial the accused is then arrested and procedure for trial can begin. 

• Double Jeopardy – “nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb;”

The second part of the 5^th Amendment is pretty much self-explanatory it means that an accused cannot be charged in the same court for the same offense more than once. The accused cannot face a trial after suspension or conviction of the trial. However, this does not apply to cases of mistrial and appeals. In the 1824 case of United States v. Perez, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that defendants will not always be protected by pleading double jeopardy when trials end without indictment or mistrial. The accused can be tried at the state level and again on a federal level.  Double Jeopardy applied only to criminal cases. For Example – If a person has committed an offense of Theft, the person can be imprisoned only once for the offense. In case the person has been acquitted, the person cannot be called in the court of law again.

There are several reasons for adding this to the US constitution. It prevents the government to use its power to wrongly convict an innocent person. It makes the government abide by the decision of the Grand Jury and give importance to their decision. It protects citizens from unnecessary financial and emotional damage the trial would cost.

• Self-Incrimination – “nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself,”

The third part of the 5^th Amendment states that no person can testify against themselves. In the US Constitution, the Burden of proof is the responsibility of the state and not the accused. The statement is often heard in US movies “I plead the fifth” it means that they are using their right to remain silent (famous Miranda Warning) which is under the 5^th Amendment. The Amendment prohibits the police officers to beat a confession out of potentially innocent people.

It can be seen in the case of Brown Vs Mississippi in, 1930’s, which took place in a rural county in Mississippi during an investigation of a murder of a white farmer, The sheriff’s department suspected a group of black illiterate farmers. The sheriff’s department beat up the farmers until they confessed to the murder and within 7 days they were tried convicted and sentenced to death solely based on their testimony. To control such incidents, self-incrimination has to be put to play so that the state cannot use the person’s words against himself during the trial. It is important to note that self-testimony can be manipulated by many sources due to which it cannot be reliable for conviction, it has to be accompanied by various other pieces of evidence.

• Due Process of Law – “nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”.

The fourth part of the 5^th Amendment states that no person shall be denied life, liberty (freedom), or property without the due process of law by the Federal Government. The Fourteenth Amendment protects the same rights from the state. Therefore, the Government must act by legal rules and not contrary to them. The due process is divided between two, one being the procedural due process and the other being substantive due process. Procedural due process is used to try and convict defendants accused of crimes, while substantive due process is a principle allowing courts to prevent government interference with fundamental rights.

• Just Compensation – “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

The fifth part of the Fifth Amendment states that the government under Eminent Domain has the power to use any private property for public use if it deems necessary but to do so, it must compensate the owner of such property as one individual would pay during purchase. For example, the government is making a new road to connect the country to the city but there is private property in the mid-way, the government in order to purchase must pay just compensation to the owner of the property. In simple language, just compensation means that the government is liable to pay fair market value to the owner of private property. The most important thing to remember is that such a purchase should only be done for the welfare of people.

Conclusion

The next time you hear the statement “I plead the Fifth” it means the person is invoking their;

1. Right to Grand Jury,
2. Right of Protection against Double Jeopardy,
3. Right of Protection against Self-incrimination,
4. Right to Due Process of Law and
5. Right to Just Compensation.

References –

1. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bill-of-Rights-United-States-Constitution
2. https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-double-jeopardy-4164747
3. https://www.constitutionus.com/constitution/amendments/the-5th-amendment-to-the-united-states-constitution-explained/
4. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fifth-Amendment

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