About the Seventh Amendment

The Seventh Amendment serves to ensure that civil litigants are entitled to jury trials, much as the Sixth Amendment gives criminal defendants the right to be tried by a jury of peers. The amendment originated when it was noted near the end of the Constitutional Convention that no provision had yet been made for juries in civil cases. An attempt to add the provision was defeated, but the guarantee to the right of a jury in civil cases was one of the amendments urged on Congress by the ratifying conventions. The Seventh Amendment was finally passed without further debate.

One of the greatest threats to unfettered Seventh Amendment rights is the proliferation of civil suits in this country. Both the prevalence of suits as well as precedent-setting large awards have caused some to promote the notion of tort reform. While such reforms are (generally speaking) a good idea and I'm in support of the notion, many important questions remain: How will any award limitations be determined? Who should decide whether a given suit is "frivolous?" Learning more about tort reform is crucial given that any such reform will be legislatively mandated, which means in turn that you have a voice beforehand, and will certainly be subject to any laws afterward.

Click here for more on the Seventh Amendment. Want to help preserve the Seventh Amendment? Educate yourself!