Responding to a noise complaint called in by a neighbor, two police officers arrive at an apartment. An adult woman answers the door while an adult man sits on a sofa. A handgun and drug paraphernalia are in plain sight on a coffee table. The man shouts, "You can’t come in here! Let me see your warrant!” and issues a verbal threat to harm the officers, but does not reach toward the handgun. Police later discover that the handgun had been reported stolen during a recent robbery.
Answer
A
The man exercised freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment when he threatened the officer.
B
The man was entitled to possess the handgun because of his Second Amendment right to bear arms.
C
The police had no right to enter because of Fourth Amendment protections from unreasonable searches and seizures.
D
The man can avoid giving self-incriminating testimony by exercising his Fifth Amendment rights during his subsequent trial.
Explanation
At a criminal trial, a defendant may invoke the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and choose not to testify. That right does not make the handgun lawful or protect a threat from all consequences. The correct choice is D, the right to avoid giving self-incriminating testimony at trial.
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