There may be occasions when an individual faces both civil and criminal liability for the same conduct. For example, if one were to allegedly submit false information to a bank insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, then one might be indicted by the Grand Jury (in a criminal case) and also be sued by the bank (in a civil case) both based on the same conduct. Criminal and civil proceedings (or investigations) may occur at the same time (i.e., occur parallel in time) or one may precede the other. Because the defending of one type of case may negatively impact the other, one may want to consider the impact on both types of cases before setting upon a strategy.

When there are parallel cases or investigations, one of the key issues to consider is whether one should invoke his right not to give testimony. The right against self-incrimination, as guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, protects a person against being incriminated by his own compelled, testimonial communications.

The protection not only enables an individual to refuse to testify at a criminal trial, but also privileges him not to answer official questions put to him in any other proceeding, civil or criminal, formal or informal, where the answers might tend to incriminate him in future criminal proceedings. Thus the Fifth Amendment protections apply to disclosures to which the witness reasonably believes could be used against him in a criminal prosecution, or could lead to other evidence, that might be so used. For example, a transcript of a witnesses' testimony in a related (or, even unrelated) civil case may be used against him in a subsequent criminal prosecution. Although a witness may not use the Fifth Amendment to avoid appearing at a court proceeding, he can invoke the privilege against self-incrimination to avoid incriminating questions on a question-by-question basis.

Depending on the circumstances, one may wish to consult with an attorney regarding one's rights and obligations.