Why Is The 5th Amendment Important

It seems hard to pick a favorite amendment out of the first ten. Most of the amendments support each other and work together. While all of the amendments are important, the one I feel is the most important of all is our 5th amendment right. Freedom of speech, religion, and our right to bear arms is a wonderful thing. But sometimes things do not quite work out the way we would like, and we find ourselves on the other side of the law, namely the wrong side. While is it true that when you are arrested you pretty much lose most of your rights, you do have some that could work in your favor. The 5th amendment is every defendant's holy grail, or at least that is what they are hoping for. But what is the 5th amendment exactly? It is more than something you say when you do not want to answer a
Excluding the military on this (I think war crimes is a whole different ball game), the 5th amendment says that you do not have to answer for a capital or infamous crime unless you are being indicted by a grand jury [1]. The 5th also protects us from Double Jeopardy, which is being tried for the same offense twice if you have been acquitted. I believe a miss trial or a hung jury does not apply as Double Jeopardy since basically no verdict was ever reached. The 5th also protects from people from being a witness against themselves [2]. In basic terms, this is pleading the 5th as to prevent the accused from sticking their foot in their mouth and incriminating themselves. The 5th also states that we cannot be denied life, liberty, and property without due process of the law [3]. This is a great add on and compliments the 4th amendment perfectly. You cannot be subject of search and seizure without probable cause, or a warrant. I realize that there are a few exceptions. The last part of the 5th keeps people from knocking on your door and telling you that they are going to open a park and your house is in the way. There