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Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution

 

 
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Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution
 
 
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The Seventh Amendment (Amendment VII) of the United States Constitution
United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America; the Federal Government of the United States; and all the State & local governments and Territorial Administrative bodies contained therein....
, which is part of the Bill of Rights
United States Bill of Rights

In the United States, the Bill of Rights is the name by which the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution are known. They were introduced by James Madison to the First United States Congress in 1789 as a series of constitutional amendments, and came into effect on December 15, 1791, when they had been United_States_Constitution...
, codifies the right to a jury trial
Jury trial

A jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact which are then applied by a judge. It is be distinguished from a bench trial, in which a judge or panel of judges make all decisions....
 in certain civil trials. Unlike most of the Bill of Rights, the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal United States federal courts. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed with th...
 has not incorporated
Incorporation (Bill of Rights)

Incorporation is the United States legal doctrine by which portions of the United States Bill of Rights are applied to the U.S. state through the Due process#Interpretation of Due Process Clause in U.S....
 the amendment's requirements to the states under the Fourteenth Amendment
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is one of the post-American Civil War Reconstruction Amendments that was first intended to secure the rights of former Slavery in the United States....
.

Reexamination of facts Even where a legal, rather than an equitable, issue is controverted, the judge has a role in the determination of the verdict.






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The Seventh Amendment (Amendment VII) of the United States Constitution
United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America; the Federal Government of the United States; and all the State & local governments and Territorial Administrative bodies contained therein....
, which is part of the Bill of Rights
United States Bill of Rights

In the United States, the Bill of Rights is the name by which the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution are known. They were introduced by James Madison to the First United States Congress in 1789 as a series of constitutional amendments, and came into effect on December 15, 1791, when they had been United_States_Constitution...
, codifies the right to a jury trial
Jury trial

A jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact which are then applied by a judge. It is be distinguished from a bench trial, in which a judge or panel of judges make all decisions....
 in certain civil trials. Unlike most of the Bill of Rights, the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal United States federal courts. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed with th...
 has not incorporated
Incorporation (Bill of Rights)

Incorporation is the United States legal doctrine by which portions of the United States Bill of Rights are applied to the U.S. state through the Due process#Interpretation of Due Process Clause in U.S....
 the amendment's requirements to the states under the Fourteenth Amendment
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is one of the post-American Civil War Reconstruction Amendments that was first intended to secure the rights of former Slavery in the United States....
.

Text


Reexamination of facts

Bill of Rights Pg1of1 Ac
Even where a legal, rather than an equitable, issue is controverted, the judge has a role in the determination of the verdict. The Supreme Court has held that judges may opine on the facts in dispute (provided that the jury actually determines the dispute), direct the jury to pay special attention to certain evidence and require the jury to answer certain questions relating to the case in addition to giving a verdict. If the judge deems the plaintiff's evidence insufficient, he may direct the jury to find in the defendant's favor. The jury may, however, return a verdict contrary to the judge's direction

As common law provided, the judge could set aside (or nullify) a jury verdict
Verdict

In law, a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge....
 that he deemed went contrary to the evidence or the law. Common law precluded the judge from himself entering a verdict; a new trial, with a new jury, was the only course permissible. In Slocum v. New York Insurance Co. (1913), the Supreme Court upheld this rule. Later cases have undermined Slocum, but generally only when the evidence is overwhelming, or if a specific law provides narrow guidelines by which there can be no reasonable question as to the required outcome, may the court enter "judgment as a matter of law
Judgment as a matter of law

Judgment as a matter of law is a motion made by a party, during trial, claiming the opposing party has insufficient evidence to reasonably support its case....
" or otherwise set aside the jury's findings. The Senate will debate the amendment in 2009 with a view to rephrasing and changing many of the laws and increasing rights within it.

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