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Ah, Portland Orgy-on. Good times.
This is interesting, because I always though the “right to remain silent” was also the “right to shut up at any time”. So let’s say you’ve admitted to one element of a crime – say, you’re accused of burglary, and you admit to breaking into the house, but not to taking anything. Are you allowed to take the fifth on questions that involve taking property, or just ones that involve breaking into the house?
Also, how does this apply to police interrogations? Does it mean once the police get you talking about something, they can keep you talking about it even if you want to stop?
Hang on, it’s coming up.
So the upshot with the obvious parallels in the Learner case is that when Learner did her preliminary she did indeed waive her 5th amendment rights BUT only during the hearing in question. Issa would have needed to keep her there in order to compel her testimony and since he dismissed her they no longer have an avenue to pursue.
Did I get that right?
Well, I should have been studying for my finals today. Instead, I’ve read through this web comic. A shame the Fifth doesn’t apply to my exams.
Regardless, excellent and informative.
Of course it applies to your exams, as long as you don’t mind flunking due to turning in a blank sheet of answers. :-)
What if someone prefaced their remarks with an absolute reservation of right?
“I reserve my right to remain silent at any time and for any reason regardless of the circumstance, and no thing or act henceforth that I may say or do shall be construed as a waiver of the same, nor shall my silence be construed as consent in any manner or form.”
Or something like that.
I’m not sure you get to set the rules like that. What you describe sounds like a one sided contract. If you just continue talking from there, you haven’t given the interrogator an option to accept or reject your terms. If they refuse to accept your terms, you’re still in the same problem. The best solution from what I’ve read here is if I am ever questioned by police or congress is to swallow my pride and stfu. My right to keep my mouth closed is too precious to risk by protesting my innocence.
Turn the page –>
well, crap.
I suspect it’s safe to say that they won’t let her claim 5th about being author when she returns, unless they’re feeling generous; it’ll be same hearing different day.
Right, it’ll still be the same hearing, so what she waived today will still be waived when she comes back.
“We have a lot of questions for you”
Read: “Despite your three admissions being highly specific and not in need of much clarification, we’re going to harass you about a bunch of things that are tangentially related in our opinion until you get tired of saying ‘take 5′”