It has been a busy week here in the Wiebe household; not only has the end of the marking period been looming and reached today, but The Day Job has been busy with the potential of another Large New Purchase which has been requiring All Hands On Deck. A busy week!
(Courtesy of Bing image search)
Of course, the world doesn't slow down or stop for any man or woman and, sure enough, the world continued to plod along without my attention or assistance. Even with my attention or assistance, I pay no heed to the daily news anymore; I have no desire to be drawn into the endless "he said/she said" debates that seem to consume our societal discourse. My desire to keep "the news" at bay notwithstanding, I woke yesterday morning to find my Twitter feed alight with news about Trump and New York State and a civil fraud case or somesuch.
I'm not terribly interested in the case at all, but what caught my eye were the number of Twit's bemoaning that Trump will just "plead the fifth" and that nothing will come of the suit. Internet comments usually aren't worth anyone's my time, but there were a few responses claiming that "the fifth" in a civil case can be used as a sign of guilt.
Now that caught my attention. Knowing that internet comments are usually not worth the time of day, though, I dug further into it.
For those not aware, "the fifth" refers to the Fifth Amendment in the United States Constitution, which reads as thus:
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Please note the emphasis on nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.
Civil cases differ in criminal cases in one important factor: Civil cases require only "a preponderance of evidence" to find guilt, while criminal cases require proof "beyond a shadow of a doubt." In a criminal case, when a defendant pleads the "the fifth" and refuses to provide testimony on the grounds that it may convict them, the jury in the case is instructed by the judge to absolutely not allow the defendants Fifth Amendment plea to effect the outcome of their decision. In a criminal trial.
In a civil trial, pleading the fifth is different.
I'm not a lawyer, and by no means should anything I say be taken as advice. My understanding of the fifth in a civil trial is that it can be invoked, but only if the defendant fears that a criminal case will also result. If there is no such fear, then the fifth cannot be invoked in a civil case.
Even so, in a civil case, pleading the fifth can be used as evidence. Recall that a civil case requires a "preponderance of evidence" to find guilt, and that the Fifth Amendment guarantees a defendant to refuse to give testimony only in a criminal case.
In short, pleading the fifth in a civil case can be used as evidence of guilt.
And that is what I have learned today.
(c) All images and photographs, unless otherwise specified, are created and owned by me.
(c) Victor Wiebe
About Me
Sometimes photographer. Wannabe author. Game designer. Nerd.
General all around problem-solver and creative type.
Creator of What I Learned Today Hive community: https://peakd.com/c/hive-131257/created
Blind Skeleton
Online Radio: https://victorwiebe.com/radio_wiebe
Friday Night Concert: 6:00pm EST
Morning! Twitter is a complete - - - - hole and I do not participate.. unless it's an emergency. 😄 Not my cup of tea shall we say LOL.
Edit: You are correct though.. forgot to add that bit. :D
LOL. Well, you're not wrong. I use it primarily to follow artists, game designers, photographers, and poets, yet I still get Twitter twitting me bs twits from twitholes. I can't get away from it! 😂
Isn't it "beyond a reasonable doubt" in criminal cases?
Yes, I do believe you're correct in that. Verbiage really is important, too.