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"Testimony" can be interpreted as the physical act of speaking, giving testimony against oneself under questioning. How would being compelled to enter a passco

• elliekelly 6y ago
  “Remain silent” is actually a bit of an oversimplification. We have a right not to incriminate ourselves. If you’ve murdered someone and hidden the murder weapon the government cannot compel you to tell them where you’ve hidden it. That information exists only in your mind and you can’t be forced to incriminate yourself. And they can’t say “okay, remain silent but you must drive us to the location of the murder weapon and point it out” so it’s not about “speech” so much as it is about your right not to assist the government in their prosecution of your own crimes. Now that’s not to say that the location of the murder weapon or the contents of your phone are somehow protected. If the government happens upon the information another way they can use it against you. Even if the way they happen upon it is your own words. If you keep a diary and write “hid murder weapon here” the government can seize your journal as evidence and then use information from your journal to go find more evidence against you. But you don’t have to help them find the information that can be used against you.