AL · jury_instructions
Ala. Pattern Jury Instr. (Criminal) WITNESS_INVOKES_5TH
Witness's Invoking 5th Amendment Right
Witness’s Invoking Fifth Amendment Right
During the trial, you heard a witness, [Insert name], invoke his/her
constitutional right not to testify. Under the Fifth Amendment to the United States
Constitution, a person cannot be compelled to testify if that testimony might tend
to incriminate them.
You must not speculate about the reason for the witness's refusal to
testify, and you must not consider that refusal for any purpose in your
deliberations. You may not draw any inference, favorable or unfavorable, to either
side based on that witness's decision not to testify.
You must decide this case based solely on the evidence that was admitted
during the trial.
History
[Approved 07-25-25]
Provenance
- Source
- judicial.alabama.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-08-20
- Edition
- 2026-08-20
- Content hash
454606d83c6a1e1eb1427d4ca73988aa3dcebe790c070fa4add5c4c60b92ce46
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