Also known as: self-incriminate · self-incriminated · self-incriminating · privilege against self-incrimination
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A constitutional privilege that protects a person from being compelled to provide testimony or other evidence that could be used to establish criminal liability. The privilege applies in any proceeding where answers might furnish a link in the chain of evidence needed for prosecution. It is personal to natural individuals and does not extend to corporations or other artificial entities.
Steven Silva testified on direct examination about revenue calculations at his company. On cross-examination the opposing lawyer asked whether Steven had skimmed cash tips from coworkers and failed to report the income on his tax returns. Steven's counsel objected and asserted the privilege. The court sustained the objection because the proposed inquiry related only to character for truthfulness and did not waive the privilege.
Simone Sanders was placed in a locked interview room at the station and questioned at length about vehicle identification numbers. Officers never advised her of the right to remain silent or to have counsel. Her statements were later offered against her at trial. The court excluded the statements because they were obtained during custodial interrogation without the required warnings.
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Santiago Sanchez was called to testify in a state criminal trial and refused to answer questions that would have exposed him to liability. The prosecutor argued that the Fifth Amendment did not apply in state court. The court sustained the invocation because the privilege against compelled self-incrimination is incorporated and enforceable against the states.
Stella Shapiro challenged a state law that required married couples to register certain personal information that could later be used in criminal proceedings. She argued the requirement forced her to surrender private details. The court recognized that the self-incrimination privilege helps create a zone of privacy that government may not force a person to surrender.
Sierra Santos faced a state prosecution and sought to exclude evidence obtained through compelled statements. The state argued that only federal proceedings were covered by the Fifth Amendment. The court applied the privilege because the right to be free from compelled self-incrimination is protected against state action through the Fourteenth Amendment.
Sydney Santos was ordered to provide a blood sample after an accident. She objected that the order violated her privilege against self-incrimination. The court overruled the objection because the sample was physical evidence rather than testimonial communication and therefore fell outside the privilege.
No. A witness who testifies on another matter does not waive the privilege against self-incrimination for testimony that relates only to character for truthfulness.
Yes. Any statement obtained during custodial interrogation is inadmissible unless the person first receives warnings about the right to remain silent, that anything said can be used in court, the right to an attorney, and the right to appointed counsel if indigent, and then validly waives those rights.
Yes. The Fifth Amendment privilege against compelled self-incrimination is incorporated through the Fourteenth Amendment and applies to the states.
No. The privilege is personal to natural individuals and does not extend to artificial entities such as corporations or to their custodians when acting in a representative capacity.
No. The privilege protects only testimonial communications. Physical evidence such as blood samples or handwriting exemplars is not protected because it is nontestimonial.
…from custodial interrogation of the defendant unless it demonstrates the use of procedural safeguards effective to secure the privilege against self-incrimination. By custodial interrogation, we mean questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any…