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Except that we are talking about 5th amendment rights, which are not about striking a balance. The 5th amendment does not use compromise words, it is very clea
by betterunix 14y ago
Except that we are talking about 5th amendment rights, which are not about striking a balance. The 5th amendment does not use compromise words, it is very clear:
"No person shall be...compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself..."
Nothing in there about being "reasonable" or about being "clearly guilty." The 5th amendment makes exactly one exception, which applies only to the military, only during a time of war or danger to the public, and has nothing to do with self-incriminating.
- rayiner 14y agoFirst, I'm not talking about this case specifically, but rather responding to the top level poster's general comment about peoples' rights being protected. Second, even in the absence of wiggle words, there is the issue of how broadly to interpret the protection. Read literally, the text only prohibits "compelling" a person "to be a witness against himself" (i.e. a compelled confession admissible into evidence). Extending the protection more broadly than that is an act of judicial balancing.