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Not a lawyer, but it's my understanding there is no 5th amendment protections in a civil suit/trial. But Googles complaint frames Levandowski's behavior as crim
by valuearb 10y ago
Not a lawyer, but it's my understanding there is no 5th amendment protections in a civil suit/trial. But Googles complaint frames Levandowski's behavior as criminal, so doesn't that create a reasonable fear of prosecution, and open the door to letting Levandowski use the 5th?
I don't know. But it's an interesting case.
- AnimalMuppet 10y ago> Not a lawyer, but it's my understanding there is no 5th amendment protections in a civil suit/trial. It was weirder than that. Levandowski was claiming that Uber couldn't turn information over to Google because it might incriminate Levandowski, when Levandowski wasn't one of the parties in the lawsuit. Unsurprisingly, that didn't fly.
- siegel 10y agoYou can assert the 5th amendment in a civil suit, if you fear potential criminal prosecution. If you couldn't, then the 5th amendment protections would essentially disappear in many cases. Many criminal offenses also give rise to civil liability. So, all that would have to happen is for the victim to sue the criminal defendant, notice his/her deposition in the civil case, and compel the criminal defendant to speak that way. Then you would suddenly have the defendant being forced to testify under oath, despite the fear of criminal prosecution.