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 to the United States Constitution protects the right to trial by jury.

Why The Emphasis on the Right to Trial by Jury?

There was great concern among the Americans that their liberties were being taken away by the King of England. Those liberties included taxation without representation and the right to trial by jury. They founding fathers believed they were being deprived of the right to serve on juries. They feared decisions on questions of fact would be made by courts  themselves. In England, questions of fact were being made by judges appointed by the King. As a result, the jury system was of tremendous importance to our founders. The great importance that they attached to the right to trial by jury is shown by the Seventh Amendment.

What did the Early Presidents Think About Trial by Jury?

On this President’s Day, let’s look at what several of our early presidents thought about the trial by jury.

John Adams wrote, “Representative government and trial by jury are the heart and lungs of liberty.  Without them we have no other fortification against being ridden like horses, fleeces like sheep, worked like cattle, and fed and clothed like swine and hounds.”

Thomas Jefferson wrote, “I consider trial by jury as the only anchor ever yet imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.”

James Madison wrote, “Trial by jury is essential to secure the liberty of the people as any one of the pre-existent rights of nature.”

George Washington, concluded, “There was not a member of the Constitutional Convention who had the least objection to what is contended for by the advocates for a Bill of Rights and trial by jury.”

The Seventh Amendment refers to “suits at common law.” The English common law included negligence, including what we now call personal injury claims or torts. “In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed $20, 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 other according to the rules of the common law.” The Seventh Amendment is short, sweet and direct. The founding fathers intended that the right to trial by jury be preserved. They did not want cases decided by a judge, Congress or by bureaucrats.

Under the law, a case is divided into two separate categories: (1) questions of fact, and (2) questions of law. Questions of law are answered by the judge. Questions of fact are answered by juries.

What is a question of fact? One of the most important questions of fact that you come across in a personal injury case is how much is this case worth? That is a question that gets answered by a jury. It may not be for much longer if continuing changes to the legal system focus on removing the right to trial by jury.

Trial by Jury Being Undermined

Today, the right to trial by jury is coming under attack from many different angles. In Missouri, the legislature is currently considering bills to provide tort reform and to require arbitration of employment disputes.

Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to bear arms. Right there in the Bill of Rights along with these liberties is the right of controversies to be tried to a jury. It was that important to our Founding Fathers that they included it in the original Bill of Rights. It should be important to each of us as well.