Amidst all of the action about gay marriage this week, a ruling slipped by under the radar that is important but many may have missed. The Supreme Court ruled that the right to remain silent has some strings attached. I think an example will make it clear what has changed.
Let's say that you get stopped by the police and they ask you a series of innocuous questions, or so you think. They haven't charged you with anything but you really just don't like the tone, so you just remain silent. They then say you can go, and you think that's the end of it.
Later, you are charged with a crime and one of the things the prosecutor states in his charge is that you refused to answer questions by just keeping silent, that you didn't actually "take the fifth" in so many words. The very act of not responding can be used against you if you don't officially say that you are refusing to answer. Seems kind of like this subtly uses the rules against you, doesn't it? The onus is on you, not the police, kind of like you have to prove your innocence first.
I don't know why the Court decided this way; I certainly can't find anything in the actual Fifth Amendment that would allow this, but the Supreme Court has now opened this door in a 5-4 split decision. Now it might not seem like a major concern to you, but you never know what might happen in your future and, furthermore, it's just another example of how Big Government is taking our rights away one piece at a time. That should concern all of us a lot.
There is a Christian organization that exists to help their Christian brothers and sisters with issues involving abuse of rights. It is the National Center for Life and Liberty, website address www.ncll.org. I would urge anyone to check them out. All of their attorneys are Christians and they can refer to the best option for you and your budget in a case where you think your rights have been abused.
It is important for us Christians to work together to solve societal problems together, for there is safety in numbers and using resources made up of people sharing your values is so important in this increasingly anti-Christian society that seems to be growing. I hope this information might be of value to you someday.
God be with you, pray to Him daily and have a wonderful Saturday. Don't forget to worship Him tomorrow on your Day of Rest.
Let's say that you get stopped by the police and they ask you a series of innocuous questions, or so you think. They haven't charged you with anything but you really just don't like the tone, so you just remain silent. They then say you can go, and you think that's the end of it.
Later, you are charged with a crime and one of the things the prosecutor states in his charge is that you refused to answer questions by just keeping silent, that you didn't actually "take the fifth" in so many words. The very act of not responding can be used against you if you don't officially say that you are refusing to answer. Seems kind of like this subtly uses the rules against you, doesn't it? The onus is on you, not the police, kind of like you have to prove your innocence first.
I don't know why the Court decided this way; I certainly can't find anything in the actual Fifth Amendment that would allow this, but the Supreme Court has now opened this door in a 5-4 split decision. Now it might not seem like a major concern to you, but you never know what might happen in your future and, furthermore, it's just another example of how Big Government is taking our rights away one piece at a time. That should concern all of us a lot.
There is a Christian organization that exists to help their Christian brothers and sisters with issues involving abuse of rights. It is the National Center for Life and Liberty, website address www.ncll.org. I would urge anyone to check them out. All of their attorneys are Christians and they can refer to the best option for you and your budget in a case where you think your rights have been abused.
It is important for us Christians to work together to solve societal problems together, for there is safety in numbers and using resources made up of people sharing your values is so important in this increasingly anti-Christian society that seems to be growing. I hope this information might be of value to you someday.
God be with you, pray to Him daily and have a wonderful Saturday. Don't forget to worship Him tomorrow on your Day of Rest.
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