'Pleading the Fifth' invokes a constitutional amendment that has a long history in US society

The Fifth Amendment is part of the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights and protects against self-incrimination NEW YORK (AP) — It was important enough to the framers of the U.S.

Constitution to be included in the first 10 amendments known as the Bill of Rights — that no person “shall be compelled in any criminal case… The amendment also includes a right to due process and protects against being prosecuted twice for the same offense.It has seeped into the culture, too. “Pleading the Fifth” has become an idiom in the United States, used jokingly in casual conversation as a way to get out of answering a possibly uncomfortable question.It's not a uniquely American principleThe general principle is not a uniquely American one.

Its roots include English common law dating back to the 17th century.At the time the Constitution was being written, it was enshrined along with other amendments to put limits on the newly created federal government. The Fifth Amendment and a handful of others were focused on criminal justice issues, with other amendments including things like the right to a lawyer and a speedy jury trial, and a prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.One of the core tenets of the U.S. criminal justice system is that people are innocent until proven guilty, and that it's up to the prosecuting power to prove guilt.

Without a right to avoid self-incrimination, people could be put in the position of having to prove their own innocence rather than being shown as guilty.It can be used in a number of circumstancesOver the course of U.S. history, the Fifth Amendment has expanded beyond federal criminal cases to the state court level, and to civil cases as well. There's a difference, though.In criminal cases, if someone on trial invokes the amendment and refuses to testify, the jurors must be told that they can't assume that silence equals guilt.

In civil cases, drawing a negative inference from a refusal to testify can be allowed.Of course, even in criminal cases, if jurors are told it doesn't mean a defendant is guilty, they could still believe that not testifying correlates to having done what they are accused of. Witnesses can also plead the Fifth, but they can answer other questions — as opposed to defendants,…