The Sixth Amendment
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solute. A person who ‘‘takes the Fifth’’—that is, refuses to answer questions in a court because his answers might incriminate him—thereby
raises ‘‘a legitimate presumption’’ in the court that he has done something for which he might be punished by the law. If offered immunity
from prosecution in return for giving testimony, either he must comply
or else expect to be jailed, and kept in jail, for contempt of court. And,
under certain circumstances, a judge or investigatory body such as a
committee of Congress may refuse to accept a witness’s contention that
he would place himself in danger of criminal prosecution were he to answer any questions.
The Fifth Amendment’s due process requirement was originally a procedural right that referred to methods of law enforcement. If a person was
to be deprived of his life, liberty or property, such a deprivation had to
conform to the common law standards of ‘‘due process.’’ The Amendment required a procedure, as Daniel Webster once put it, that ‘‘hears before it condemns, proceeds upon inquiries, and renders judgment only
after a trial’’ in which the basic principles of justice have been observed.
The prohibition against taking private property for public use without
just compensation is a restriction on the Federal government’s power of
eminent domain. Federal courts have adopted a rule of interpretation
that the ‘‘taking’’ must be ‘‘direct’’ and that private property owners are
not entitled to compensation for indirect loss incidental to the exercise of
governmental powers. Thus the courts have frequently held that rentcontrol measures, limiting the amount of rent which may be charged, are
not a ‘‘taking,’’ even though such measures may decrease the value of the
property or deprive the owners of rental income. As a general rule, Federal courts have not since 1937 extended the same degree of protection to
property rights as they have to other civil rights.
The Sixth Amendment: Rights of the Accused
Here again the Bill of Rights reaffirms venerable protections for persons
accused of crimes. The Amendment guarantees jury trial in criminal
cases; the right of the accused ‘‘to be informed of the nature and cause
of the accusation’’; also the rights to confront witnesses, to obtain witnesses through the arm of the law, and to have lawyers’ help.
These are customs and privileges at law derived from long usage in