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Tue 5 Jun, 2012 06:24 pm
If criminal charges are brought against a person involved in loss of money, he/she can plead the 5th, preventing the prosecutor from learning what the person knows about the loss of funds.
Why can's the government or a private party then sue him/her civilly for the lost money and likely make him pay when he won't answer?
@gollum,
gollum wrote:
Why can's the government or a private party then sue him/her civilly for the lost money and likely make him pay when he won't answer?
You do realize that criminal or civil cases are based largely on paper, physical, and circumstatial evidence above and beyond the accused's testimony right?
A government or private party will likely have more then enough evidence to continue a trial regardless whether or not the accused testifies or not.
@tsarstepan,
Thank you. You may well be correct. I was thinking of the bankruptcy of MF Global, Inc. and of Assistant Treasurer Edith O'Brien pleading the 5th. It is now being considered whether to give her immunity in order to learn the story of the firm's descent.
@gollum,
The idea to give someone immunity for their testimony is because they looking to fry the bigger fish in this massive billion dollar scandal not just to get her version of the story into the history books.
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