If only you hadn’t been mischievous, Selkie dear…
I’m not sure if the phrase “pleading the fifth” may be an obscure reference for my non-American readers or not. Just in case: it refers to the 5th amendment of the American Constitution, which states that a person may legally decline to answer a question asked in a court of law or by other authorities if they feel answering the question may wrongly incriminate them. It’s to prevent people being tricked into falsely condemning themselves.
Or in Selkie’s case, refusing to admit her wrong-doing. 😉
I was going to give Agent Brown mussd-up/uncombed hair for his "civilian attire" look like Todd gets, but in initial sketches it looked too much like fwoopy boy-band hair.
Wow, I didn’t realize it was agentagent Brown till he said “drop the suit”. :0
Same here.
I didn’t get it even then, not before I read the transcript – I though the “suit” referred to a lawsuit! XD
:p That’s how I read it!
Even with the hint, I didn’t know! Oh well:) That is what I get for coming on early:)
I thought “lawsuit”, not “suit of clothes. And without Dave’s flashback I would not have remembered Selkie erasing the songs. Guess I’m not all on top of it today.
I thought lawsuit as well. Dropping a/the suit is a common term for cancelling a lawsuit, so…
“Lose the suit”, now. Might have gotten that. 😛
I was in the same boat. I though he was talking about court, not clothing (but then looking again, it really is him, just not in all black)
It’s nice to see he can dress down when he needs to be all inconspicuous.
I’m looking forward to the PTA meeting now, as I’m quite interested in more dealings with our friend the agent.
This is about to get … interesting.
Wait…that guy isn’t the Police man? Kind of thought it was him until I read the transcript.
Without the suit, he’s MISTER Brown. At a PTA meeting. Could it be that he’s the father of that kid in classroom 3A, mentioned in strip 288?
Good call on the hair, Dave. If he’s a stereotypical FBI agent his hair would be too short to be fwoopy.
Jeez, I thought he was Mr. Fairweather. Of course, Todd would’ve recognized him then …
Huh. So, which one of the kids do you think belongs to Mr. Brown?
OMG, he’s undercover!!!!
or a parent. . . or an undercover parent.
So does Brown know about the tracking/monitor thingummy in Selkie’s bow?
If he does, how big of a brick do you reckon he’ll poop once he realizes it’s missing?
The fifth amendment isn’t just about wrongful incrimination. If during the trial the prosecution asks for an alibi the defense can plead the fifth if admitting to the alibi would admit to another crime, or if a witness would need to confess a crime to account for their presence a the scene, e.g. I know that the defendant committed the crime. What were you doing at the docks at midnight? I plead the fifth in the regard.
The Fifth is not just to prevent “falsely” condemning youself. If you did it, you don’t have to admit to it, and since saying no would be perjury, you take the Fifth.
And Todd’s wearing a girl’s shirt again 😛 😀
There’s also the crucial legal distinction that in some countries, refusing to answer a question is itself incriminating. In the USA, it’s explicitly not.
There’s also the fact that there’s literally nothing a suspect can say in a police interview that will help your case. Anything you say that doesn’t incriminate you is “hearsay” and therefor inadmissible in court.
Until Salinas v. Texas, that is.
Via SCOTUSblog:
> Holding: When petitioner had not yet been placed in custody or received Miranda warnings, and voluntarily responded to some questions by police about a murder, the prosecution’s use of his silence in response to another question as evidence of his guilty at trial did not violate the Fifth Amendment because petitioner failed to expressly invoke his privilege not to incriminate himself in response to the officer’s question.
> Judgment: Affirmed, 5-4, in an opinion by Justice Alito on June 17, 2013. Justice Thomas, joined by Justice Scalia, concurred only in the judgment. Justice Breyer filed a dissenting opinion joined by Justice Ginsburg, Justice Sotomayor, and Justice Kagan.
http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/salinas-v-texas/
In other words, if you refuse to answer a question, and you don’t *explicitly* invoke your Fifth-Amendment right to remain silent, that silence can be used against you in court. (The nauseating part is that this applies even *before* you’ve been read your Miranda rights.)
Yeah but Kid Logic wouldn’t think ahead about falsely condemning oneself, so pleading the Fifth as a result of Kid Logic is almost the same as an admission of guilt.
What mess Mr Brown? Why are you here?
…Selkie calling 911?
I made Todd’s final-panel face upon realizing WHO THE FUCK SHOWED UP except my jaw was on the floor.
So, readers from other countries, do you know anything about pleading the fifth? Just kind of curious, would be grateful for an answere!
Yes, thanks to American cop shows.
Thanks!
Was aware of it, but more because I 1) like to watch law shows, 2) am one of those silly people that look up cases that were referred to in aforementioned law shows. 😛
“Drop the suit?” Sir, this is a PG-13 comic, keep your suit on!