Seventh Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees citizens the right to a jury trial in certain civil cases. Civil cases—which include lawsuits over contracts, ownership of property, and payment for personal injury—deal with the private rights of individuals and with the laws protecting these rights. The amendment was the 7th of 10 amendments made to the Constitution as part of the Bill of Rights , which guarantees fundamental rights and freedoms to every citizen.
The Seventh Amendment states, “In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of a 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 Bill of Rights.
The U.S. Constitution went into effect on June 21, 1788. Some states had refused to approve the Constitution unless a bill of rights was added. Supporters of the Constitution, known as Federalists , promised to support constitutional amendments that protected individual liberties against possible unjust rule by the national government. Congress proposed the first 10 amendments—the Bill of Rights—in 1789. The states ratified (approved) them in 1791.
Seventh Amendment protections.
The framers of the Constitution considered the right to jury trial extremely important, and they strongly disliked having appellate courts overturn jury verdicts. In the Sixth Amendment , the framers provided for jury trials in criminal cases. Criminal cases deal with actions that are harmful to society and that society has made a crime. In the Seventh Amendment, the framers of the Constitution provided for jury trials in civil suits in which the amount contested exceeded $20. Because of a great decline in the value of the dollar over the years, however, the amendment now applies to almost all such cases. The amendment also limits the power of appellate courts to overturn decisions made by juries. The amendment applies only to civil cases in federal courts. It also applies only to cases that were recognized as causes of action under “ common law ”—that is, lawsuits for money damages and not to those for injunctive relief. In suits involving injunctive relief, a court orders the defendants to take a certain course of action but does not require them to pay any money to the plaintiff. Most states also call for jury trials in civil cases, but not because the Seventh Amendment requires them. It is one of the few provisions of the Bill of Rights that does not apply to state governments.
History.
The Seventh Amendment protects a fundamental principle of democracy—the citizens’ right to have their case heard by a jury of their peers. Because federal judges are appointed, not elected, the framers believed that jury trials were a necessary check on potential abuses of power by federal judges. Under British colonial rule, appellate judges had often overturned jury verdicts. The interference of such judges with local courts was one of the chief grievances of the colonists living under British rule. Therefore, the Seventh Amendment not only protects a citizen’s right to a jury trial, but it also limits the power of appellate courts to overturn findings of fact (decisions regarding a lawsuit’s basic facts) issued by juries.
