Also known as: amend · amends · amended · amending · modify · revise
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The constitutional command in the Fifth Amendment that protects persons against compelled self-incrimination, double jeopardy, and deprivation of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
During a contract dispute trial, defense counsel attempts to question plaintiff Adrian Aguilar about his devout religious practices to suggest he is less truthful. The court sustains an objection and excludes the line of inquiry. The jury never hears the evidence, so the witness's credibility stands on other grounds.
Artemis Logistics holds a senior mortgage on a warehouse. It agrees with the borrower to increase the interest rate by two points. A junior lienholder, Azure Solutions, objects that the change harms its position. Because the modification is not materially prejudicial beyond the scope of any reservation, the senior mortgage retains its original priority.
A court awarded primary custody of a child to Angela Acosta two years ago. The father, Albert Allen, now seeks modification because the child has developed severe anxiety since the decree. The court finds the new facts constitute a change in circumstances and that modification serves the child's best interest, so it grants the request.
Austin Abbott's will devises his residuary estate to the trustee of a revocable trust he created during life. The trust instrument is identified in the will and was executed before the will. After Abbott dies, the trust remains amendable, yet the devise is effective and the property passes into the trust for administration.
Aisha Ahmed, while competent to make a will, executes a revocable trust and later amends it to add real estate. After her death, a beneficiary challenges the amendment for lack of capacity. The court applies the same standard used for wills and upholds the amendment because Ahmed possessed the requisite capacity at the time of the change.
The city council rezones a single parcel owned by Astra Aerospace from residential to industrial use. Neighbors challenge the action as spot zoning that lacks any substantial relation to public health, safety, or welfare. The court invalidates the amendment because it arbitrarily favors one owner without a legitimate public purpose.
Amend. V prevents the government from compelling a person to be a witness against himself in a criminal case. The protection applies in both state and federal proceedings through the Fourteenth Amendment.
Amend. V's double jeopardy clause generally prohibits retrial after acquittal or conviction, but a mistrial declared for manifest necessity does not always trigger the bar.