statute or law. If that person breaches
the;duty,;which;results;in;an;injury;that
can be compensated by a monetary
damage;award,;the;injured;party;has;a
legitimate suit at common law. For ex-ample,;your;neighbor;has;a;duty;to;keep
his car on his property and off of yours.
He forgets to put on the parking brake
and it rolls down his driveway and kills
your dog—thus injury and resulting
damage. When you sue the neighbor
to recover the value of the dog—as well
as pain and suffering—this is a suit at
common law. It’s unlikely that there’s a
statute;giving;you;the;right;to;sue,;so
it’s not created by legislation. In con-trast,;if;you;pollute;the;water;on;your
property and it runs off your land and
ruins the neighbor’s water, there’s a
federal;or;state;statute;prohibiting;it,;as
well as a provision for fines and damages payable to the neighbor. This is
not a suit at common law.
The right to a civil jury trial isn’t
limited to suits at common law.
As far as limiting the right to jury tri-
als to just suits at common law and not
those;arising;from;legislation,;the;Court
disputed this limited application by
citing several cases where the Supreme
Court;had;held;it;to;apply;to;statuto-
ry causes of action.
2;It;thus;held;that,
“The;Seventh;Amendment;does;apply
to actions enforcing statutory rights,
and;requires;a;jury;trial;upon;demand,
if the statute creates legal rights and
remedies, enforceable in an action
for damages in the ordinary courts of
law.”
3 As long as one demands a jury
trial for any lawsuit involving amounts
in;excess;of;$20.00,;he;will;be;able;to
argue his case before a jury and not a
judge. Conversely, if the action is an
administrative matter, such as a suit
brought before the National Labor Rela-
tions Board or some other government
entity,;there;is;no;right;to;trial;by;jury
since;“in;administrative;proceedings;.;.;.
jury trials would be incompatible with
the whole concept of administrative
adjudication and would substantially
interfere with the [government’s] role
in;the;statutory;scheme.”
4
The Seventh Amendment Right to
Trial by Jury is NOT applicable to
State Courts.
Unless a state’s own constitutional provision for the right to jury trial in suits at
common law or otherwise preserves the
right;to;jury;trial,;the;federal;right;is;not
applicable.;Stated;another;way,;the;only
aspect of the Fourteenth Amendment
that applies is due process. If the state’s
constitution provides other means of empowering citizens to exercise their rights
in;civil;matters,;such;as;trials;before;judg-es;of;administrative;officers,;due;process
does not require that they have the option of trial by jury.
5 They can raise their
objections in a hearing before a judge or
administrative;hearing;officer,;which;is;a
type of due process.
As long as one demands
a jury trial for any
lawsuit involving
amounts in excess of
$20.00,;he;will;be;able;to
argue his case before a
jury and not a judge.
