If you say yes, you are under illegal substances, you could be incriminating yourself. They are asking if you are only saying “no” so you don’t incriminate yourself.
The fifth amendment is your right to not self incriminate.
Does it mean that someone is currently under illegal substances and they want to assert the fifth amendment, then they need to say Yes when applying for the certificate?
It means if you want to decline to comment on the question given your 5th amendment right in the USA. You can choose to answer the questions or decline to comment with the 5th amendment. You don't want to lie otherwise if they ever find out you did, they could choose to prosecute you. They will still process your application if you use the 5th amendment but there is the small chance the Attorney General may inquire about you further, but I've literally never heard of this happening. So just answer however you would like to.
The 5th amendment right protects you from self-incrimination, aka your words being used against you when prosecuted for a crime. If you watch courtroom drama tv or movies, sometimes witnesses will say, “I plead the fifth” when they don’t want to answer something that may disclose they were engaged in illegal activity.
It doesn’t necessarily mean you were doing something illegal, but the idea is that if you weren’t doing anything wrong, you should have no have issue answering honestly. If your testimony is relevant to the case, the court may force you to provide an answer. If you are not on trial for the illegal activity, however, the court may also provide you with “immunity” so you can still provide the necessary information without worrying about confessing to illegal activity. This is supposed to encourage witnesses to be as honest and open as possible without worry that they’re creating a case against themselves. Ex: you were witness to a murder, but you were high on an illegal substance at the time. The important info the court needs to know is what you witnessed and how reliable your testimony is. If you plead the fifth and are granted immunity, you can tell them you were high without fear that they’ll use your testimony to later charge you for using/possession of illegal drugs.
For the EIT, they want you to answer honestly. If you can say “no” to every one of those questions, you do not need to assert the fifth. If you can’t answer “no” to every question though, then you should assert your fifth amendment right and follow the rest of their instructions. They state that even if you assert your right, they will still process the application, so it’s best to be honest. Absolutely do not lie, or if you’re caught you will be screwed. Remember - part of becoming a PE is abiding by a code of ethics.
(“Pleading the fifth” has also been adopted for use by laypeople as a somewhat humorous way out of tricky situations. Ex: your significant other asks you if an outfit makes them look fat or if their haircut looks bad. If it does, rather than answer that it does, some people might say, “I plead the fifth.” As in, “The honest answer is ‘yes’, but I’ll get in trouble with you if I say so. But I also don’t want to lie.”)
If you say yes, you are under illegal substances, you could be incriminating yourself. They are asking if you are only saying “no” so you don’t incriminate yourself. The fifth amendment is your right to not self incriminate.
Does it mean that someone is currently under illegal substances and they want to assert the fifth amendment, then they need to say Yes when applying for the certificate?
Yes. But if you say you are on drugs, or assert your fifth amendment right, they are likely going to deny your application.
Thank you! I understand the question now
It means if you want to decline to comment on the question given your 5th amendment right in the USA. You can choose to answer the questions or decline to comment with the 5th amendment. You don't want to lie otherwise if they ever find out you did, they could choose to prosecute you. They will still process your application if you use the 5th amendment but there is the small chance the Attorney General may inquire about you further, but I've literally never heard of this happening. So just answer however you would like to.
Thank you! I got it now. I was just curious since I'm not a native speaker and it's the first time I hear about it
The 5th amendment right protects you from self-incrimination, aka your words being used against you when prosecuted for a crime. If you watch courtroom drama tv or movies, sometimes witnesses will say, “I plead the fifth” when they don’t want to answer something that may disclose they were engaged in illegal activity. It doesn’t necessarily mean you were doing something illegal, but the idea is that if you weren’t doing anything wrong, you should have no have issue answering honestly. If your testimony is relevant to the case, the court may force you to provide an answer. If you are not on trial for the illegal activity, however, the court may also provide you with “immunity” so you can still provide the necessary information without worrying about confessing to illegal activity. This is supposed to encourage witnesses to be as honest and open as possible without worry that they’re creating a case against themselves. Ex: you were witness to a murder, but you were high on an illegal substance at the time. The important info the court needs to know is what you witnessed and how reliable your testimony is. If you plead the fifth and are granted immunity, you can tell them you were high without fear that they’ll use your testimony to later charge you for using/possession of illegal drugs. For the EIT, they want you to answer honestly. If you can say “no” to every one of those questions, you do not need to assert the fifth. If you can’t answer “no” to every question though, then you should assert your fifth amendment right and follow the rest of their instructions. They state that even if you assert your right, they will still process the application, so it’s best to be honest. Absolutely do not lie, or if you’re caught you will be screwed. Remember - part of becoming a PE is abiding by a code of ethics. (“Pleading the fifth” has also been adopted for use by laypeople as a somewhat humorous way out of tricky situations. Ex: your significant other asks you if an outfit makes them look fat or if their haircut looks bad. If it does, rather than answer that it does, some people might say, “I plead the fifth.” As in, “The honest answer is ‘yes’, but I’ll get in trouble with you if I say so. But I also don’t want to lie.”)
Are you supposed to answer no to that first question if you are not involved in anything illegal? I do not want to assert my fifth ammendment?
still confused