The Seventh Amendment: Civil Trial By Jury

The Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, also known as Amendment VII, is part of the Bill of Rights. It was introduced in 1789 by James Madison, along with other amendments, in response to Anti-Federalist objections to the new Constitution. The Seventh Amendment was ratified on December 15, 1791, and it codifies the right to a jury trial in certain civil cases and inhibits courts from overturning a jury's findings of fact. The amendment's provision for jury trials in civil cases has never been incorporated at the state level, but almost every state has a provision for jury trials in civil cases in its constitution. The Seventh Amendment is generally considered one of the more straightforward amendments, with its two clauses being understood with little ambiguity.

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The right to a jury trial in civil cases

The Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, part of the Bill of Rights, was ratified on December 15, 1791. It protects citizens' right to a jury trial in certain civil cases in federal courts and prohibits judges from overturning a jury's findings of fact. The text of the amendment specifies that "in suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved".

The inclusion of the right to a jury trial in civil cases in the Seventh Amendment was a response to Anti-Federalist objections to the new Constitution. Federalists were concerned that state civil juries were sympathetic to debtors and feared nullification of the laws of contract. Anti-Federalists, on the other hand, argued that juries could protect citizens from bad laws, tyrannical executive actions, and corrupt or biased judges. James Madison, the drafter of the Bill of Rights, introduced an early version of the Seventh Amendment in 1789 to address these concerns.

The interpretation of the phrase "common law" in the Seventh Amendment has been a subject of debate. Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story ruled that it refers to the common law of England, which served as the basis for the American legal system. This interpretation was reaffirmed in Parsons v. Bedford (1830) and Dimick v. Schiedt, which established that the Seventh Amendment's civil jury trial provisions were derived from England's common law in 1791, the year the Amendment was ratified.

The Seventh Amendment has been extended to various types of cases over the years, including shareholder suits and copyright infringement lawsuits. However, it is important to note that the Seventh Amendment only applies to federal courts and has not been incorporated into state courts. While the Seventh Amendment's provision for jury trials in civil cases has never been incorporated into state law, almost every state has a provision for jury trials in civil cases in its constitution.

Inhibition of courts from overturning a jury's findings

The Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, also known as Amendment VII, was ratified on December 15, 1791, as part of the Bill of Rights. This amendment guarantees the right to a jury trial in certain civil cases and prevents judges from overturning a jury's findings of fact. The relevant section of the amendment states:

> "In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law."

This means that once a jury has reached a verdict in a civil case, that decision cannot be overturned or re-examined by a judge in a US court, except according to the rules of common law. The Seventh Amendment thus gives citizens the right to a jury trial in federal courts for civil cases exceeding a certain dollar value, and it protects the findings of those juries from being overruled by judges.

The historical context of the Seventh Amendment dates back to the English legal system and the Middle Ages, when English courts used juries composed of people without legal training to decide certain civil cases. This tradition was carried over to the American legal system, and by the time of the American Revolution, the right to a civil jury was included in the constitutions of several new states. During the Constitutional Convention in 1787, opinions about civil juries were divided, with Federalists concerned about potential conflicts with contract laws due to state civil juries' sympathy for debtors. Anti-Federalists, on the other hand, strongly advocated for the inclusion of civil juries as a defence against overreach and corruption from the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the federal government.

The interpretation of the phrase "common law" in the Seventh Amendment has been a subject of discussion. Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, in his ruling on Wonson v. United States, established the historical test, interpreting the amendment as relying on English common law to determine the necessity of a jury trial in a civil suit. This interpretation was further solidified in Parsons v. Bedford (1830) and Dimick v. Schiedt, which affirmed that the Seventh Amendment's civil jury trial provisions were based on and derived from English common law as it stood in 1791 when the amendment was ratified.

The Preservation Clause

The Seventh Amendment (Amendment VII) to the United States Constitution, also known as "The Preservation Clause", is a part of the Bill of Rights. This amendment was ratified on December 15, 1791, along with nine other amendments, and it preserves the right to a jury trial in certain civil cases.

The official text of the amendment is as follows:

> "In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law."

The Seventh Amendment's provision for jury trials in civil cases has never been directly applied to the individual states. However, almost every state has a provision for jury trials in civil cases in its constitution. The amendment also inhibits courts from overturning a jury's findings of fact.

The right to a civil jury trial was considered important by the Founding Fathers because it was a fundamental right respected by the English, and it could protect citizens from bad laws passed by the legislature, tyrannical actions by the executive, and corrupt or biased judges. The civil jury was an old English institution, older even than the criminal jury. During the Middle Ages, English courts would use juries composed of people inexperienced in legal affairs to decide certain civil cases. By the time of the American Revolution, many of the new states' constitutions specifically included the right to a jury in civil and criminal cases.

The Seventh Amendment has been interpreted and extended in several Supreme Court cases. For example, in Beacon Theatres v. Westover (1959) and Dairy Queen, Inc. v. Wood (1962), the Court ruled that all issues that required trial by jury under English common law also required trial by jury under the Seventh Amendment.

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The historical test

The Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, also known as Amendment VII, is part of the Bill of Rights. This amendment was passed by Congress on September 25, 1789, and ratified on December 15, 1791. An early version of the amendment was introduced by James Madison in 1789, along with other amendments, in response to Anti-Federalist objections to the new Constitution.

The Seventh Amendment codifies the right to a jury trial in specific civil cases and prevents courts from overturning a jury's findings of fact. The text of the amendment states that in suits at common law, where the value in controversy exceeds twenty dollars, the right to a trial by jury shall be preserved. It also specifies that no fact tried by a jury shall be re-examined in any United States Court other than according to the rules of common law.

The civil jury in the English legal system

The concept of the jury system was likely imported into Britain after the Norman Conquest, though its early functions were quite different from those today. Early jurors in England acted as witnesses, providing information on local affairs. Over time, they began to be used as adjudicators in civil and criminal disputes. The jury's role evolved under Henry II, moving from reporting on events they knew about to deliberating on evidence presented by the involved parties. Today, it is vital that jurors know as little as possible about the facts of a case before a trial.

The jury is considered fundamental to the English legal system, although only a minority of cases are tried by a jury in the present day. Juries play a particularly important role in criminal justice, ensuring that the system works for the benefit of the public. In civil cases, the use of juries has declined significantly over time. This erosion of jury trials in civil cases appears to have begun in the mid-19th century, when judges were given the right to refuse a jury trial in certain situations and insist on a trial before a sole judge. The Common Law Procedure Act 1854 gave litigants in the Queen's Bench the option of a trial by judge alone, leading to a steady uptake of this option.

The Juries Act 1974 is the main statute governing the present-day jury in England and Wales. While the role of the jury is now almost entirely limited to more serious criminal cases, juries do still occasionally sit in civil trials. The Supreme Court Act 1981 grants a qualified right to a jury trial in four types of cases: libel and slander; malicious prosecution; false imprisonment; and fraud. In these cases, a jury trial is granted unless the court deems that the trial requires a prolonged examination of documents or accounts, or a scientific or local investigation that cannot be conveniently carried out with a jury.

In 1998, fewer than 1% of civil trials in England and Wales were jury trials, mainly concerning defamation cases. Jurors are summoned by a written notice from the lord chancellor, executed by a local court officer. A panel of jurors is selected with regard to their convenience, although there are no absolute geographical constraints. The parties involved can inspect the panel, and individual members can be examined by the judge if there are doubts about their fitness to serve due to a lack of proficiency in English or a physical disability, for example. If there is a shortage of jurors, any person in the court's vicinity can be summoned to make up the numbers, a process known as "praying a tales".

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