Cameron University’s Constitution Day observance to examine “The Fifth Amendment: Then and Now”

Cameron University will join colleges and universities across the nation to celebrate Constitution Day on Monday with “The Fifth Amendment: Then and Now.”

Kyle Cabelka, district attorney for Comanche and Cotton counties, will address the historical origins of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the individual liberties it protects, and the ways judicial interpretation of those rights has evolved over time.

The presentation takes place at 2 p.m. in the Shepler Ballroom, located on the mezzanine level of the Shepler Center.

Enacted in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights, the Fifth Amendment provides several protections for people accused of crimes. It guarantees the right to a grand jury, ensures that a person cannot be tried twice for the same offense and protects against self-incrimination. Additionally, it ensures that people cannot be imprisoned without due process of law and requires the government to compensate citizens when it takes private property for public use.

A 2007 CU graduate, Cabelka was appointed as district attorney for District 5, which covers Comanche and Cotton counties, by Gov. Kevin Stitt in 2021. He has worked in this district attorney’s office since he was in law school at Oklahoma City University. He began interning as a licensed legal intern in Comanche and Cotton counties in May 2011. After receiving his Juris Doctorate in 2013, he continued his career there as an assistant district attorney through 2016 when he was promoted to serve as first assistant.