Search results for “the fifth amendment”

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The IRS scandal I wrote about last week now has a new twist: Louis Lerner, the officer responsible for scrutinizing Tea Party 501(c)(4) applications, invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination on the stand in front of a house congressional meeting. Her invocation came after House Speaker John Boehner stated that he wanted to …

Continue reading Waiving the Fifth Amendment — Lois Lerner and the IRS Scandal

According to the Supreme Court of the United States, refusing to answer questions is not an invocation of your right to silence under The Fifth Amendment and if you refuse to answer questions and haven’t been mirandized yet, your Fifth Amendment rights don’t attach, and the silence can be used substantively against you.   Here’s what …

Continue reading The Sounds of Silence — Inculpation by Saying Nothing

Yesterday I blogged about the Supreme Court’s decision in Fisher vs. The University of Texas and how legislation with a discriminatory impact that does not have a discriminatory intent does not violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Today’s Supreme Court decision in Shelby vs. Holder deserves a similar analysis, with what I consider a different …

Continue reading Supreme Court in Shelby Opens the Door for Voter ID Civil Rights Litigation