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7th amendment
I have to do a report on the 7th amendment and i read what it is but i'm having trouble understanding what it means. I have to write how it effects the world and what i think of it. Can someone tell me what it means, like maybe examples.
Thanks a bunch!
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right to a jury, basically
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So instead of quoting something from the internet, I'll try and explain it as best as I can...
The 7th Amendment determines when a jury is needed in civil cases(people vs. organisations).
Nowadays, juries are normally just used in criminal cases, but back when the Bill of Rights was written, juries were used in civil cases as well.
The 7th Amendment makes sure that a jury will be used in all cases where people sue each other for <i>"sums exceeding $20"</i> (which, when the Bill of Rights was written, was worth about $400 in today's money).
The 7th amendment also preserves the common law tradition that juries decide the verdict of a case, not judges. Judges are used to determine what evidence is legally admissible in a case and Juries decide what evidence actually proves whether the defendant is guilty or innocent.
I guess one way that the 7th amendment affects the world is that while judges are the legal experts, the community whom makes up the jury ultimately decides the final verdict. The way I see it, there is both a pro and a con to this. The pro would be that select people from the community are involved and are able to come together and agree upon something that, in the end, will effect the entire community. The con would that these select people are not legal experts. They don't know how to assess the evidence and therefore they may wrongfully convict someone of something they didn't do, or vice versa. There's also the point that many people are stubborn and some jury members enter the courtroom with their decision already made, without even bothering listening to the facts/evidence.
haha, that's all I've got. Sorry it's so long, I definitely didn't intend it to be... Hope I helped somewhat =
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"In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of a trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of common law."
It means that if what you are fighting over is worth more than 20 dollars, then you have a right to a trial. If you don't have a trial, they can examine the case and set a verdict, get a new jury, or set a trial.
In example-
You can't take someone to court over a chocolate bar they stole from you, however if they stole a 300$ necklace, you can. I personally think it's better for the world. Why would you want to take someone to court over something not even worth 20 dollars? I think it's better to have a trial gauranteed if the object I was fighting over actually had value to it.
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Amendment VII
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 reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
it gurantees the right to trial by jury meaning our peers, not the government decide guilt and innocence. without it we enter a police stste where people can be imprisoned without a trial, much like the patriot act is trying to accomplish
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