Rights & liberties
Fifth Amendment
Bundles five protections: grand jury indictment, no double jeopardy, no compelled self-incrimination, due process, and no taking of property without just compensation.
In full
The self-incrimination clause is why a witness may decline to answer, and why taking the Fifth carries no inference of guilt in a criminal case. Double jeopardy bars a second prosecution for the same offense by the same sovereign, which is why state and federal charges for the same conduct are both permitted.
Where to go next
Keep going
Browse every term in the glossary, or see the vocabulary in motion in the How government works walkthroughs.
A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.