Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
In a criminal prosecution, under the Fifth Amendment, a person has the right to refuse to incriminate himself (or herself). No person is required to give information that could be used against him. This is also called "taking the Fifth" or more commonly "pleading the Fifth." The intent of this clause is to prevent the government from making a person confess under oath. A person may not refuse to answer any relevant question under oath unless the answer would incriminate him. If the answer to a question on the witness stand could be used to convict that person of a crime, he can assert his Fifth Amendment rights.