5th - 8th Amendments

5th - 8th Amendments

by Steve Marks

​5th Amendment

• ​Protects five (5) important rights:

  • Right to a grand jury hearing to decide if a trial is needed.

  • ​You cannot be tried for the same crime twice ("Double Jeopardy")

  • ​You don't have to testify against yourself ("Taking the Fifth", "Right to Remain Silent")

  • ​Cannot lose "life, liberty, or property without due process"

    • ​"Innocent until proven guilty"

    • ​Government must prove case "beyond a reasonable doubt"

  • ​The government cannot take someone's private property for public use without paying a fair price.

​6th Amendment

• People have the right to a "Speedy, Public Trial".

• ​Defendants have the right to an impartial jury.

• ​The government must tell people the charges against them and the time and place they are said to have happened.

• ​People have the right to question witnesses and witnesses must testify.

• ​People have the right to an attorney.

​7th Amendment

• ​In all but the most minor cases, people involved in a civil case have a right to a jury trial.

  • ​Civil cases typically involve money, property, or family matters

• ​after a jury decides the facts of a case, no judge can overrule the jury's decision.

​8th Amendment

• Punishments should fit the crime​

• Prevents "cruel and unusual punishment" after a person is found guilty

• ​Prevents "excessive bail and fines" after a person is found guilty

• ​Some people argue the death penalty is "cruel and unusual"