d it is the fifth amendment The Fifth Amendment part of the protects against a person being compelled to be a witness against himself or herself in a criminal case. Taking the Fifth is a colloquial term for invoking the privilege that allows a witness to decline to answer questions that might incriminate him or her, without penalty or it counting against him or her. A defendant can not be compelled to become a witness at his or her own trial, but if he or she should testify, he or she is not entitled to the privileges and inferences that can be drawn from a refusal to answer
