The majority of people have heard the term “I’ll plead the Fifth”, or something similar. Often, this is used in a light-hearted context, but the origin of the statement is actually quite serious.
The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects all citizens from being forced to make self-incriminating statements. It allows individuals to remain silent until they have sought legal guidance. Why does this matter so much?
Protecting your liberty
To be stopped, searched, arrested, charged and convicted, there needs to be evidence against you. The evidentiary standard required increases with each act, from being stopped to being convicted. To be stopped and questioned, police officers require reasonable suspicion. To be searched, police officers require your consent, a valid search warrant or probable cause. To be convicted, the evidence against you must prove guilt beyond all reasonable doubt.
While the evidentiary standard to stop you and question you is relatively low, it becomes higher to search and arrest you. Often, police officers only ask questions because they do not yet have probable cause. For example, if they pull you over when driving, they may ask where you have been in the hope that you admit to drinking. If you say nothing, then you may be free to leave. If you say something like, “I just came from a bar, but I only had one drink”, then this could provide probable cause to search you, your vehicle and even arrest you.
You could be accused of lying
When you’re innocent and accused of criminal activity, it’s only natural to want to proclaim your innocence. You may say something like, “there’s no way I could have done that, I was at my friend’s house at the time”. The police can check this. If you did not get your dates and times 100% correct, you could be accused of lying and you no longer have an alibi.
Utilizing the Fifth Amendment allows you to protect your innocence and seek legal guidance before answering questions.