Current Events > Question about the Fifth Amendment (not American)

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I'm watching Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich on Netflix and when they ask him certain questions in his deposition, he says he will assert his fifth amendment rights, and googling, that means you don't have to answer legal questions if the answer will incriminate yourself.

But... By asserting those rights, aren't you essentially admitting guilt?

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it just works

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@MabusIncarnate you explain things better than most people I've met. Go America all over my ass and explain this shit

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yes, but not in a way prosecutors can use to prosecute you.

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Its my understanding that it can be used to protect yourself from incriminating yourself about anything.

So if your alibi for why you werent at the scene of the murder was because you were in an RV synthesizing meth, you could invoke the 5th

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There are situations in which you can be innocent but answering a question honestly will make you look guilty.

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TreyFlowers posted...

But... By asserting those rights, aren't you essentially admitting guilt?

Not necessarily. You might use them if saying anything makes you guilty of another crime. Also, you aren't under any obligation to help investigators build a case against you. They have to prove you're guilty, you don't have to help. Although that tends to be more an issue in police interviews, not a court room.

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Crazyman93 posted...

Not necessarily. You might use them if saying anything makes you guilty of another crime. Also, you aren't under any obligation to help investigators build a case against you. They have to prove you're guilty, you don't have to help. Although that tends to be more an issue in police interviews, not a court room.

Yea police likes to threaten you with "we'll charge you with that if you don't tell us about this".

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PrettyBoyFloyd posted...

Yea police likes to threaten you with "we'll charge you with that if you don't tell us about this".

Never talk to police without a lawyer, even if you've done nothing wrong and think you're helping.

I swear, police dramas have made people so stupid about lawyering up. No, just because you get a lawyer doesn't mean you're guilty, it just means you're smart enough to have a guy who knows his way around police interviews and the law to advise you. You wouldn't start an investment fund without an accountant, wouldn't build a house without an architect, don't talk to cops without a lawyer. Professional advice is a good thing.

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AlisLandale posted...

Its my understanding that it can be used to protect yourself from incriminating yourself about anything.

So if your alibi for why you werent at the scene of the murder was because you were in an RV synthesizing meth, you could invoke the 5th

This makes a bit more sense

Crazyman93 posted...

Not necessarily. You might use them if saying anything makes you guilty of another crime. Also, you aren't under any obligation to help investigators build a case against you. They have to prove you're guilty, you don't have to help. Although that tends to be more an issue in police interviews, not a court room.

Okay, what about in a court room with a jury though? If I was on a jury and someone took the 5th, I'd be like "that dudes guilty as hell"

Again, not American, but yeah

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Someone asserting their constitutional rights can't ever be used against them in court. Even if it makes you look really guilty, "he refused to answer" is not a valid legal argument, generally speaking.

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You likely wouldnt be selected to be a juror with that mentality
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Ideally, it's something that wouldn't affect the jury's thinking, but human nature being what it is, there might be jury members that do think that way.
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Essentially you have the right to remain silent. Anything you can say can and will be used against you regardless of context. At times, it's a safer approach to say nothing at all opposed to saying something that may be misconstrued in an unintentional way.

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TreyFlowers posted...

I'm watching Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich on Netflix and when they ask him certain questions in his deposition, he says he will assert his fifth amendment rights, and googling, that means you don't have to answer legal questions if the answer will incriminate yourself.

But... By asserting those rights, aren't you essentially admitting guilt?

The Jury, by law, has to use the facts when deciding the case. They can't make assumptions like that. Yes, in a way that is very true, but you can't use that as evidence.

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I've taken to watching audit the audit on youtube lately. They're all American vids but some are really interesting.

It deals entirely with the minutiae of law and grades the police and civilians on the interaction.

There's on where a cop literally arrests a kid and says "we'll make it up on the way," because the kid was dating the cops 18 year old daughter and the cop heard she'd been staying at his place.

So he camped out in front of the house and waited to arrest him and find his daughter.


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It's more like "I know you're here to twist my words against me, so I choose not to speak to you"

It's really common for legal-savvy people so it's not necessarily suspicious

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MabusIncarnate posted...

Anything you can say can and will be used against you regardless of context.

However, nothing you say can be used for you. Yeah, always refuse to speak without a lawyer.

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I was kinda hoping someone else would watch audit the audit and find him interesting.

Lol. Oh well.

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TreyFlowers posted...

Again, not American, but yeah

You say this like this is a uniquely American concept. It's not. It originated in England and most countries today have some sort of right against self-incrimination. Even China technically has one. I'm sure whatever country you're from has one too.

You may not incriminate yourself nor may you serve as a witness against yourself.

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It's like.

Maybe there's an eyewitness that says they saw someone that kind of matches your description killing the victim.

Then they ask you, "were you there with the victim the night of the crime?"

And you can say "Yes" and that's basically gonna seal your guilt.

Or you can say "No" and your attorney can say "yeah like look at juror number 8, he matches the description, too. Doesn't seem like very credible testimony" and then they plant that seed of doubt in the jury.

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It's there because our court system is adversarial.

It's to prevent being bullied, lying due to fear, or whatever

It's a trap card that summons your lawyer when in need

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