Amendment V

No person shall be held at 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 jeoperdy 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.

My Opinion: This Amendment has quite a few parts that is worth talking about. First:

Indictment by Grand Jury: No one can be tried for a serious crime without being indicted by a Grand Jury first which is a important aspect to being able to sentence criminals correctly.

Double Jeopardy: that defendants, once acquitted on a charge, may not be tried again for the same offense at the same jurisdictional level. Prime example of this is the O.J. Simpson trial. I think this is totally ridiculous on some levels. For the people who are protected by this is no guarantee that they are totally innocent. Putting criminals right back out on the street and there is not a thing we can do about it.

Pleading the Fifth: The best known clause in the Fifth Amendment ("No person ... shall be compelled in a criminal case to be a witness against himself") protects suspects from forced self-incrimination.

The Miranda Rule: Just because a suspect has rights doesn't mean that a suspect knows about those rights. Officers have often used, and sometimes still use, a suspect's ignorance regarding his or her own civil rights to build a case. This is why the Miranda Rights were established so this would stop happening, and everyone is treated equally which is important.

Obama Further Damages the Fifth Amendment



My Opinion: I had not heard of any of this until watching this video. I think it is crazy that people cannot sue these companies unless the government makes it public. Obama is making a bad name for himself by supporting this. Since the program of TSP is not active anymore then this still shouldn't be happening, and if it is then something needs to be done about it. That is a extreme violation of privacy!

Computer Passwords & the Fifth Amendment

My Opinion: There are many who believe this ruling is wrong. They take the the view that a pass phrase is like a key to a door, a safe deposit box, etc. The accused would have to produce this type of key--such action is not protected under the Fifth Amendment. It is not compelled testimony. Rather, it is simply providing access to evidence defined in a warrant or subpoena. Therefore, an accused should have to provide a pass phrase or password to "unlock" electronic evidence. In my opinion--and I am not a lawyer--, a pass phrase is a key. It doesn't by itself incriminate anyone. It simply provides easy access to evidence. In the physical world, law enforcement personnel would simply gain entry by breaking a lock or door to gain access based on the dictates of a warrant. This is not possible in much of the electronic world where critical evidence might be encrypted. I'm all for privacy. I believe each of us should be protected from invasive acts by government. However, I also believe that court ordered searches of electronic media trump this protection. Law enforcement must be able to access electronic evidence--whether encrypted or in plain text--in order to protect all of society.