Amendment 7 of 27 · Bill of Rights · 1791
Seventh Amendment
Jury in civil cases
The one-line version
In most federal civil lawsuits, you have the right to have a jury decide the facts.
The Seventh Amendment in plain English
In most federal civil lawsuits for money over twenty dollars, you have the right to a jury trial. Once a jury has decided the facts, federal courts cannot re-examine those facts except under traditional legal rules.
Original text, 1791
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.
Phrase by phrase
In Suits at common law
- In the kinds of lawsuits that old English courts of law heard, mostly lawsuits over money.
where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars
- When the amount being fought over is more than twenty dollars.
the right of trial by jury shall be preserved
- You keep the right to have a jury decide your case.
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
- Once a jury decides the facts, federal judges can reopen them only in the limited ways the old common law allowed.
Picture it
Example. Not legal advice.
You sue a company in federal court because its product injured you, and you ask for money. You can ask for a jury to decide what happened. The judge explains the law, and the jury decides the facts.
What this means for you
Only federal civil cases
This amendment applies only to federal civil cases. A civil case is a lawsuit that is not a criminal case, such as a dispute over money, an injury, or a contract. State civil cases follow state rules, which are usually similar but not the same.
The twenty-dollar rule
The twenty-dollar amount has never been changed for inflation. In 1791, twenty dollars was a meaningful amount of money. Today, almost every federal lawsuit clears it.
The jury right is available in most federal lawsuits that seek money. Many cases still end without a jury because the two sides settle or a judge decides the case first.
Who decides what
A civil jury decides questions of fact, meaning what happened. The judge decides questions of law, meaning which rules apply. The Seventh Amendment protects the jury's role on the facts.
Once a jury decides the facts, a judge can set them aside only in limited ways. These are ways the old common law allowed, such as ordering a new trial.
Myth check
MythThe Seventh Amendment gives me a jury in every lawsuit, in every court.
FactIt applies only in federal court. State courts follow their own state laws and constitutions, though most offer civil juries.
MythTwenty dollars is so little that the rule must have been updated.
FactThe twenty-dollar amount has never been changed. Almost every federal lawsuit clears it today.
Common questions
What does the Seventh Amendment say in simple terms?
It means that in many federal civil lawsuits, you can have a jury decide the facts. Civil lawsuits are cases about money or rights, not crimes. The right applies when more than twenty dollars is at stake. Courts generally cannot overturn a jury's findings of fact except under old common-law rules.
Does the Seventh Amendment apply in state court?
No. In Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad Co. v. Bombolis (1916), the Supreme Court held it applies only in federal courts. State courts follow their own constitutions and laws, and most of them offer juries in many civil cases.
Do I get a jury in every civil case?
No. The right covers "suits at common law," mainly cases seeking money damages. Cases asking a court to order someone to do or stop doing something generally have no jury right. In Curtis v. Loether (1974), the Court said the right also covers new money-damage lawsuits created by Congress.
Is the Seventh Amendment's $20 rule still in effect?
Yes. The twenty-dollar amount in the text has never been changed. Almost every federal lawsuit today involves more than that. Separate federal laws set other limits on which cases federal courts can hear.
Do I get a jury if a government agency fines me?
Sometimes. The Supreme Court decided SEC v. Jarkesy in 2024. It held that when the Securities and Exchange Commission seeks civil penalties for securities fraud, the accused gets a jury trial. How far this ruling reaches for other agencies is still being worked out.
Go deeper
The scene · 1791
The original Constitution of 1787 promised a jury in criminal trials but said nothing about civil cases. Opponents of the Constitution warned that federal judges could decide lawsuits without juries. Jury trials had long been part of English and colonial law. The Seventh Amendment was added to protect them in federal civil cases.
Back then
Many Americans saw juries of ordinary people as a check on powerful judges and the government. They worried that federal courts without civil juries would favor the powerful. The amendment kept the civil jury as it existed in 1791.
Words that changed
- “Suits at common law”
ThenCases heard in English courts of law, usually seeking money. Other cases, like orders to stop doing something, went to separate courts of "equity" with no jury.
NowCourts still ask whether a modern claim is like an old common-law suit, especially whether it seeks money as a penalty or payment for harm.
- “twenty dollars”
ThenA meaningful amount of money in 1791.
NowA very small amount. It no longer limits who can get a jury in federal court.
Key cases
- 1916
Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad Co. v. Bombolis
The Seventh Amendment applies only to federal courts, not state courts.
- 1974
Curtis v. Loether
The jury right also covers new lawsuits created by Congress when they are like old common-law suits and seek money damages.
- 2024
SEC v. Jarkesy
When the Securities and Exchange Commission seeks civil penalties for securities fraud, the accused person has the right to a jury trial.
More history and context
The Seventh Amendment was ratified in 1791. It applies only to civil cases in federal court. It is one of the few parts of the Bill of Rights that the Supreme Court has not applied to the states. Most states still provide civil jury trials through their own laws or constitutions.
"Common law" means the legal tradition the United States took from England, in which judges built legal rules case by case. In 1791, English courts of law heard most lawsuits for money, with juries. Separate courts of "equity" handled cases asking for other remedies, like an order to stop doing something, without juries. The amendment protects the jury right in cases like those heard in courts of law.
SEC v. Jarkesy (2024) involved the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Court held that when the agency seeks civil penalties for securities fraud, the accused person has the right to a jury. Courts are still working out what this means for other government agencies.
Actively contested
Courts are still deciding parts of this. Open questions include:
- Which cases brought by government agencies require a jury after SEC v. Jarkesy (2024)
- How to decide whether a new kind of claim is like an old "suit at common law"
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