The Bill of Rights is very important in maintaining a strong central government while protecting the individual rights of sovereign states

Question

In particular, the Fifth Amendment has several important provisions that act as safeguards of rights for American citizens. Summarize the Fifth Amendment and the important provisions it covers.

Answer 1

The Fifth Amendment includes the right to a grand jury, freedom from double jeopardy, freedom from self-incrimination, the right to due process, and the right to just compensation for private property taken for public use. The right to a grand jury is used both federally and in approximately half of the states. The remaining states use a preliminary hearing process. Double jeopardy prevents an individual from repeated prosecution, but several exceptions exist. The protection against self-incrimination developed out of the need to eliminate torture as a means of obtaining a confession. The right to due process is needed prior to the deprivation of life or liberty and means an individual must be afforded equal access and exercise of all the rules, procedures, and guarantees housed within American law. Initially the right to due process was only binding in the federal court system until the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment.