The Seventh Amendment

The Seventh Amendment provides that in suits at common law where the value in controversy exceeds 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. The original Constitution guaranteed juries only in criminal cases, and Anti-Federalists warned that without a civil jury, federal judges and creditors could overpower ordinary citizens.

The amendment applies only in federal courts. It is one of the few parts of the Bill of Rights the Supreme Court has never applied to the states, though nearly every state constitution guarantees civil juries of its own. Courts apply a historical test, asking whether a claim resembles one that would have been tried before a jury in English law courts in 1791 rather than in courts of equity, which decided cases without juries. The twenty-dollar threshold has never been adjusted for inflation.

The amendment has become important in disputes over the administrative state. Congress often lets agencies impose penalties through in-house proceedings without juries. In SEC v. Jarkesy in 2024, the Supreme Court held that when the Securities and Exchange Commission seeks civil penalties for securities fraud, a claim resembling common law fraud, the defendant is entitled to a jury trial in federal court. Supporters said the ruling restored a basic right, while critics warned it could disrupt enforcement by many agencies that rely on administrative judges.