Does requiring a criminal defendant to provide handwriting exemplars violate the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Tai, 37 Cal.App.4th 990, 44 Cal.Rptr.2d 253 (Cal. App. 1995):

The Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination protects against compelling the communications or testimony of the accused, and not real or physical evidence derived from him or her. (Gilbert v. California (1967) 388 U.S. 263, 266-267, 87 S.Ct. 1951, 1953-54, 18 L.Ed.2d 1178; Schmerber v. California (1966) 384 U.S. 757, 764, 86 S.Ct. 1826, 1832, 16 L.Ed.2d 908.) Requiring a criminal defendant to provide a handwriting exemplar does not compel the defendant to provide evidence of a communicative or testimonial nature. The provision of handwriting exemplars does not violate the Fifth Amendment, as handwriting, an identifying physical characteristic, is nontestimonial in nature. (Gilbert v. California, supra, 388 U.S. at pp. 266-267, 87 S.Ct. at pp. 1953-54.)

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