Guide to Government · Amendments · Fifth Amendment · Criminal Procedure Rights
Fifth Amendment
Protects against double jeopardy, compelled self-incrimination, and deprivation of liberty or property without due process — the amendment behind the phrase “you have the right to remain silent.”
What It Protects
No double jeopardy
A person can’t be tried twice for the same offense after acquittal or conviction.
No compelled self-incrimination
A person can’t be forced to testify against themselves — the basis of “pleading the Fifth.”
Due process
Government can’t deprive someone of life, liberty, or property without fair legal procedure.
Grand jury (federal)
Serious federal criminal charges generally require indictment by a grand jury.
Suspects in custodial interrogation must be advised of core rights before statements may be used in the prosecution’s case.
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
Miranda v. Arizona — Why This Case Matters
Before 1966, police could question a suspect in custody without any requirement to tell them they had a right to stay silent or to a lawyer. Miranda created the now-familiar warning — “you have the right to remain silent,” and everything that follows — as a direct enforcement mechanism for the Fifth Amendment’s self-incrimination protection. The case is a genuine bridge between two amendments: it protects Fifth Amendment silence, but does so by requiring notice of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel at the same moment.
