The Seventh Amendment guarantees the right to a civil jury trial in federal court when a lawsuit seeks money damages and the amount in dispute exceeds twenty dollars. Ratified in 1791, it also stops federal courts from re-examining a jury’s factual findings except through a handful of long-recognized procedures. The right is not automatic in practice: you have to demand a jury in writing, and the deadline is short.
What the Amendment Says
The full text: “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.”1Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Seventh Amendment One sentence, three jobs: it preserves civil jury trials, sets a dollar floor, and restricts how courts can revisit what a jury decided.
It Only Applies in Federal Court
This is the point most people miss. The Supreme Court held in Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad Co. v. Bombolis (1916) that states are not required by the federal Constitution to provide civil jury trials, and that ruling still stands. Every state offers some form of civil jury right through its own constitution or statutes, but the rules vary. Dollar thresholds differ, jury sizes differ, and a few states permit non-unanimous verdicts. If your lawsuit is in state court, the Seventh Amendment is not what protects you. Your state’s own law is.
Which Civil Cases Carry a Jury Right
The phrase “suits at common law” is the gatekeeper. It covers cases that, in the English courts of 1791, would have gone to a jury: claims for legal remedies, meaning money damages, rather than equitable remedies like injunctions or orders to perform a contract.2Justia. U.S. Constitution Annotated – Seventh Amendment – Civil Trials – Section: Cases “at Common Law” Personal injury suits, breach-of-contract claims for damages, and property disputes over compensation are classic examples.
The right is not locked into 1791. In Curtis v. Loether (1974), the Supreme Court held the Seventh Amendment reaches statutory claims Congress creates, as long as the statute provides legal remedies enforceable in ordinary courts.3Legal Information Institute. Curtis v. Loether, 415 U.S. 189 (1974) Courts ask whether the claim resembles an action that would have gone to a jury under English common law. When a case seeks both damages and an injunction, the damages issues typically go to the jury first so the constitutional right is preserved.
Admiralty and Maritime Cases
Admiralty and maritime disputes are outside the guarantee. They were historically tried by judges sitting without juries, and the Supreme Court has consistently held that the Seventh Amendment does not require juries in civil admiralty proceedings. Congress may authorize jury trials by statute, but the Constitution does not.4Congress.gov. Overview of Admiralty and Maritime Jurisdiction
Agency Penalties After Jarkesy
For decades, agencies like the SEC imposed civil penalties through in-house administrative law judges rather than sending cases to federal court. In SEC v. Jarkesy (2024), the Supreme Court held that when the SEC seeks civil penalties for securities fraud, the defendant has a Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial in federal court. Fraud penalties are legal remedies that mirror common-law fraud claims, and an administrative judge cannot impose them consistent with the Constitution.5Supreme Court of the United States. SEC v. Jarkesy, No. 22-859 (2024) The decision left open whether other types of agency penalties might still qualify for a “public rights” exception and remain in administrative forums.
The Twenty-Dollar Number Is Not the Real Threshold
The text sets the bar at twenty dollars, and that figure has never been adjusted. In 1791 it carried real weight; today it covers essentially every civil claim.1Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Seventh Amendment The practical floor comes from federal jurisdiction. Most civil cases enter federal court either because they raise a federal question or because the parties are citizens of different states, and diversity jurisdiction requires more than $75,000 in controversy.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1332 – Diversity of Citizenship; Amount in Controversy; Costs So the constitutional twenty-dollar figure rarely bites.
Suing the Federal Government Is Different
If the defendant is the United States, the Seventh Amendment does not get you a jury. Under 28 U.S.C. ยง 2402, civil actions against the federal government are tried by a judge. The one exception is a tax refund suit, where either party can request a jury.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 2402 – Jury Trial in Actions Against United States A tort claim against a federal agency under the Federal Tort Claims Act, for instance, is decided by a single judge. So is a case in U.S. Tax Court.
How to Demand a Jury Trial
The right does not activate on its own. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 38 requires a written demand served on all other parties no later than 14 days after the last pleading directed to the triable issue is served, then filed with the court.8Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 38 – Right to a Jury Trial; Demand The demand can be a standalone document or a notation included in a pleading. Many attorneys tack it onto the last page of a complaint or answer. You can specify which issues you want tried by jury; if you do not specify, the demand covers every issue that qualifies.
Miss the 14-day window and the right is waived. The case then proceeds as a bench trial before a judge. This is one of the most commonly forfeited rights in federal civil litigation, and it usually happens through simple calendaring errors. Rule 39(b) gives a party who missed the deadline the option of asking the court to order a jury trial anyway, but granting the motion is discretionary.9Legal Information Institute. Rule 39 – Trial by Jury or by the Court Judges commonly weigh whether the delay was inadvertent, whether a jury trial would prejudice the other side, and how far the case has progressed. Treating Rule 39(b) as a safety net is a bad bet.
Jury Size and Unanimity in Federal Civil Trials
Federal civil juries do not always match the twelve-person panels seen on television. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 48, a civil jury starts with at least 6 and no more than 12 members. Unless the parties agree otherwise, the verdict must be unanimous and returned by at least 6 jurors.10Legal Information Institute. Rule 48 – Number of Jurors; Verdict; Polling Any party can ask the court to poll each juror individually after a verdict to confirm the vote. State civil juries follow their own rules, with sizes ranging from 6 to 12.
What a Judge Can and Cannot Do With a Jury’s Verdict
The second half of the amendment, often called the Re-Examination Clause, blocks federal courts from revisiting facts the jury decided except through procedures recognized at common law.11Legal Information Institute. Review of Evidentiary Record When a jury finds negligence, or finds a contract was breached, that finding stands. An appellate court can review legal errors like faulty jury instructions or improperly admitted evidence, but it cannot substitute its own reading of the facts.
The clause also shapes what a trial judge can do with a damages award. Under Dimick v. Schiedt (1935), a judge can reduce an excessive verdict through remittitur, offering the plaintiff a lower amount or a new trial. A judge cannot increase an inadequate verdict through additur. The reduced award was still contained within what the jury found; an increased amount was never passed on by any jury, so imposing it would violate the Re-Examination Clause.12Justia. Dimick v. Schiedt, 293 U.S. 474 (1935)
Two procedural tools let a losing party challenge the verdict itself, and both set a deliberately high bar. A motion for judgment as a matter of law under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50 asks the judge to rule that no reasonable jury could have reached the verdict on the evidence presented, viewed in the light most favorable to the winning party. The motion must be renewed within 28 days after judgment is entered.13Legal Information Institute. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50 – Judgment as a Matter of Law in a Jury Trial; Related Motion for a New Trial; Conditional Ruling A motion for a new trial under Rule 59 is broader, available for any reason historically recognized in federal court, including a verdict against the clear weight of the evidence or serious procedural error.14Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 59 – New Trial; Altering or Amending a Judgment Even then, the judge is ordering a do-over, not replacing the jury’s judgment with the court’s.