Rachel Price Amendment V POS2041 02-21-13
The Fifth Amendment prevents self incrimination and Double Jeopardy, which refers to being tried for the same crime twice; it also covers other guarantees that protect those that have criminal charges brought against them. I chose the Fifth Amendment to gain a further understanding of its use in our judicial system over time to this day. The Fifth Amendment is interpreted as the following; No person shall be held responsible for a capital, or infamous crime, unless convicted by a grand jury, except in cases existing in naval forces territory, or in the Militia, or when in actual military service in time of war or public danger. No…show more content… One of the most famous cases involving the due process clause was Dred Scott v. Sandford. The term “liberty” in the 5th amendment has also been an area of discontent and interpretation. Roe v. Wade the Supreme Court ruled that one of the liberties to be protected under the due process clauses of the 5th and 14th amendments was a right to privacy. (Blackmun 1973) This right to privacy, also never truly defined, expanded upon the notion of what could be protected by due process. However, in Bowers v. Hardwick, a subsequent Supreme Court decided that the right to privacy was not protected by homosexual couples engaging in consensual acts in their own home. (White 1986) This would be later overturned again by a later Supreme Court Case. In Lawrence v. Texas the Supreme Court said that substantive due process, that is the application of the law, not just the law itself, existed and therefore the right to privacy is protected under due process. (Chemerinsky 2011) However, in both Roe v. Wade and Lawrence v. Texas the Supreme Court…show more content… In 2000, the company pleaded guilty to approximately 14 corporate felonies and agreed to pay 840 million dollars in criminal fines, civil damages and penalties. The company agreed to further settlements in 2002, then paying an additional 881 million dollars in fines against them. The effectiveness of the amendment seems to be very controversial. It does indeed protect the innocent from incriminating themselves or being forced to admit to a crime they did not commit, however since it also protects the guilty because it protects all Citizens rights this is often times very flawed as far as how effective the amendment actually is. The Fifth Amendment has helped free or overturn convictions of many innocent people and in turn it has done what its purpose was intended for despite the sometimes acquitted guilty convicts that are also protected by it. In the future I believe that there should be more specific requirements passed for when the Fifth Amendment can be applied. It is my opinion that although we are