Pleading the fifth.
Pleading the fifth is the right to not testify against yourself in a
criminal action. It is not a blanket right to keep your mouth shut.
A bigger thing to consider is material evidence. For instance, although
you don't have to testify against yourself in a murder case, if you are
in possession of the murder weapon your attorney either has to disclose
that fact to the court or resign as your attorney. You don't have to
tell them how you came to possess the murder weapon, but you do have to
disclose that you have it.
The Fifth amendment does not apply in civil actions, such as auto
accident damage cases. That is why the Goldman family filed a civil
lawsuit against OJ Simpson. They knew that he would have to take the
stand in a civil action and, when he did, his story was damming to him.
They knew they were going to have trouble collecting a civil
judgement, but they saw the civil case as their chance to get him on the
stand. You can't take the fifth in a civil case.
--
Robert Mark Wallace
60 Delaware Road
Newburgh, New York 12550-3802
Telephone: (845) 566-0586
They told me that I needed to upgrade Windows. So I upgraded it to
Linux for free. For a free download, go to
http://www.ubuntulinux.org/products/WhatIsUbuntu/desktopedition
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