5th Amendment Video

The link below is to a clip from the Stephen Colbert shows which is a late night comedy telebision show. Stephen Colbert takes the fifth amendment on the show he is about to host, it is a very ridiculous clip from his late night tv show. Stephen says thing such as "I respectfully decline," "I must at this time decline, I take the fifth amendment." I found it very humorous, and I believe that most people will too when they watch it.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-march-21-2007/5th-amendment
(I pasted the link because there was no embed code)

5th Amendment Artwork

"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation"
- 5th Amendment of the United States Constitution


There are a couple of different things that the 5th Amendment deals with:

Indictment by a Grand Jury:

• Nobody can go to trial for a serious crime, except in a military setting, without first being indicted by a grand jury.

Double Jeopardy:

• The Fifth Amendment also mandates that defendants, once acquitted on a charge, may not be tried again for the same offense at the same jurisdictional level. Defendants may be tried again if the previous trial ended in a mistrial or hung jury, if there is evidence of fraud in the previous trial, or if the charges are not precisely the same.

Lastly, Pleading the Fifth:

• The best known clause in the Fifth Amendment is "No person ... shall be compelled in a criminal case to be a witness against himself," it protects suspects from forced self-incrimination. When a suspect invokes his or her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent, this is referred to in the vernacular as "pleading the Fifth." It should not by any means be taken as a sign of guilt, but it is generally portrayed as such in courtroom television dramas.

I have never been in a situation where the 5th Amendment could really affect me, but in the future I do find it important that the amendment is in place. Below is a simple cartoon illustrating the fifth amendment. The student says to the teacher "I learned in school today that you can't take the Fifth Amendment on a spelling test." What I take from this illustration is that the student is saying that he cannot plead the fifth on the test. There is no way he can get out of it, I found it a little funny but at first I did not understand the cartoon.

Cartoon Stock

4th Amendment Video

In the video below, you will find the fourth amendment prevailing in a court dispute. The dispute involves email privacy and a man named Steven Warshak. Steven Warshak, supplement peddler for Enzyte, won his case against the Federal Trade Commission, who searched his private emails. The judges unanimously ruled that the Fourth Amendment protections apply for email, just as any other form of private communication. I can relate to this because I think that emails should be private and if needed to be searched there must be probable cause and some type of search warrant. I am glad that Steven Warshak won this case because his emails are his property and the proper procedures for searching someone's property was not taken.

4th Amendment Artwork

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
- 4th Amendment of the United States Constitution


The fourth amendment says that no one has the right to search your home or property without probable cause. For example, if I am causally sitting in my living room and a police officer knocks at my door, I have the right to wish him away or let him in without being charged with some type of penalty unless that police officer has a warrant to search my home. In order to keep troublesome things from happening, probable cause comes into effect, if a police officer has some type of evidence that there is some illegal actions happening within the property they can pursue getting a warrant and search the premises. This amendment means a lot to me because I know that I am "safe" within my home and my property is safe as well. Below is a piece of artwork that expresses the meaning of the Fourth Amendment through wiretapping. 

Wiretapping Cartoon by Mike Lane

In the wiretapping cartoon on the left there is a man who says "Definitely a foreign tongue," in response to a baby, who is depicted on the right side making baby noises. Wiretapping is suppose to be "illegal" but it is not technically invasion of someone's home or property, just invasion of one's privacy. In the cartoon above, you can see how wiretapping has a chance to go wrong in a humorous way.

3rd Amendment Humor

The video in this post briefly talks about the 3rd Amendment but I feel as though it is the belief that may people share when it comes to this amendment, which is: What does the 3rd Amendment mean? Why is it relevant to me? Most people don't know around the time that the Bill of Rights was written, soldiers were commonly quartered in homes of many Americans. Families had to open their doors to complete strangers and they could stay as long as they wanted. This video relates to me because I was grouped with those who had no clue of why the 3rd Amendment was created because I did not see the importance of it, until recently. Hopefully you find the video to be as humorous as I did. The 3rd Amendment was specifically spoken about from 0:48 to 1:04.

3rd Amendment Artwork

"No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."

- 3rd Amendment of the United States Constitution

The Third Amendment says that troops cannot be quartered in homes at all during peacetime, and only as prescribed by law during wartime. However they can be quartered into homes during peacetime if the Owner gives those soldiers permission to. Below is a piece of art that I came across when I searched for artwork on Google.

    Third Amendment by Shannon

The image illustrates two figures, one being a lady and the other being a male soldier. A house is in the background and the two individuals are in the foreground. The soldier says to the woman, "I am going to stay in your house." The woman replies "No!" Obviously this is a work of a child, and I find it to be a good thing. This shows that children somewhere in the U.S. are being taught what the amendments are and actually have an understanding of what they mean. This artwork is juvenile but clearly expresses the meaning of the Third Amendment.

Attack of the 2nd Amendment

For some reason, humorous interpretation of the 2nd Amendment involves 'bear arms', in some way. The video below is called Attack of the 2nd Amendment, what it shares with the 2nd Amendment is bear arms. A person is attacked by a robber and almost stabbed, at the last moment the person pulls out bear arms to protect himself. In the end that person fends off the attacker with the bear arms he has. Bear arms represent weapons (arms), with the right to bear arms, we can protect ourselves, which is shown in the video.

Family Guy 2nd Amendment

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
- 2nd Amendment of the United States Constitution

Personally, I find this amendment to be the most controversial amendment in the Constitution. Some call this an 'absolute individual right' while others argue that the amendment does not create this absolute individual right for American citizens. States are given their own discretion to to regulate gun ownership under the conditions that they choose. I feel as though the right to bear arms is a good and bad thing depending on the circumstances, but overall I trust this amendment because I know the processes that individuals must go through in order to bear arms. This includes background checks, taking a Basic Personal Protection Course, registration of your gun, and other licensing procedures. I have posted a video from Family Guy below, Family Guy is an animated television show that follows a very dynamic family, to say the least. In the clip, there is a flashback to the forefathers of the United States writing the Constitution then they explain what the 2nd Amendment is. They say that all Americans will be able to hang bear arms within their homes. It is a humorous way to think about the 2nd Amendment and takes away the tension from the Amendment.