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PROTECTION AGAINST JUDICIAL
AND CORPORATE CORRUPTION
When our Founding Fathers ratified the
Constitution, they imagined a new nation based
on the fundamental principles of fair and equal
justice, freedom and liberty, and an unobtrusive
government beholden to “we the people.” The
Seventh Amendment is one of the most
straightforward, yet markedly consequential
riders in all the Constitution.
There are two parts to the Seventh Amendment.
First is the Preservation Clause, a provision that
grants access to jury trials in federal civil (i.e.,
non-criminal) cases like discrimination cases,
class actions, consumer safety actions, catastrophic
personal injury lawsuits, and corporate corruption
cases, to name a few. It’s not entirely clear why
the framers settled on twenty dollars as the decisive
sum. It is indeed “mysterious,” says one scholarly
article, but “no one believes that the Clause bears
on the right protected by the Seventh Amendment.”
Second is the Re-examination Clause, which
establishes that if jurors are impaneled, they are
the ultimate fact-finders and best-suited to render
reasonable, fair and just resolutions to
controversies and disputes. This second clause
forbids any court from re-examining or overturning
factual determinations made by a jury. Of course, if
it’s later found, on appeal, that legal errors were
made during the trial or evidence was insufficient,
another jury may re-examine the case. The point is
that the decision stays in the hands of the people.
Thus, the Seventh Amendment preserves the
common law distinction between the province of
the court and that of the jury. Issues of law are
resolved by the court and the jury, under the court’s
instructions, decides the facts.
By declaring a right to a trial by jury in most
noncriminal federal lawsuits, our Founding Fathers
signaled their view that threats of corporate and
judicial corruption are best combatted by “we the
people” performing the vital function of jury duty,
one of the most important civic duties a person can
be called to do. Not only does the Seventh
Amendment protect against corruption in the
courtroom, but it also prevents a trial judge from
wearing too many hats, having too much control
and playing too many roles.
It is through this Amendment that wrongdoers are
held accountable by and to their peers for harmful
conduct unacceptable by civil and decent societies.
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