How do you feel about the penalties that exist for witnesses who refuse to testify in court? (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by MediaSensationalism@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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Do you feel that the 4th amendment should protect them? Or perhaps a new amendment should be written to protect them and abolish power of subpoena?

I'm slightly biased as I ask this. I feel that the mind is "sacred" in a sense, that it should be considered a fundamental human right for an individual to be able to preserve privacy over their internally held thoughts and memories, and that the ability of the court to force an individual to speak or disclose part of their mind is a wild overreach of power and an affront to the personal liberty of the innocent.

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[-] FireTower@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago

I'm practice it only presents a problem to those who have previously testified but might be called as witness, so the def can confront them.

The only thing gained would be is now it's easier to bribe or threaten witnesses into not testifying. If you wish to not testify at all as others have mentioned I don't recall or I was tying my shoes are there for you to use.

this post was submitted on 27 Aug 2024

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