The Seventh Amendment of the Bill of Rights addresses civil matters brought to court. Crucial to understanding this amendment is to understand what is meant by "common law". One definition is Common Law (1) : "the body of law developed in England primarily from judicial decisions based on custom and precedent, unwritten in statute or code, and constituting the basis of the English legal system and of the system in all of the United States except Louisiana" The era that this definition stems from originally is the 14th century. Now, my personal understanding of this definition is that "common law" is law based on what is considered proper conduct based on what has been customarily acceptable in the past. I may be way off base on this one, so if you have a different interpretation, please speak up.
In approximately 1619, the term common-law" (2) appears and is defined by Merriam-Webster as "a) of, relating to, or based on the common law, or b) relating to or based on a common-law marriage. I don't believe that the definition referring to common law marriage applies to this Amendment, obviously.
In a further attempt to clarify "common law", I looked to the ever-convenient Wikipedia. That certainly cleared things up quite a bit. To put it as simply as possible: when a court encounters a case in which the details are so unique that no precedent has been set by a previous court, the ruling issued by that court becomes "common law" and is the precedent by which the next court in similar circumstances bases it's ruling on. That first court established the "Common Law" in regards to this particular situation, even though it is not written as a statute. I do highly recommend the article at Wikipedia, cited below, as the explanation I have given here is very simplified. (3)
The Seventh Amendment reads:
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 common law
There has been much debate concerning the final clause of the 7th. It would seem to indicate that the Federal courts have no obligation or jurisdiction in terms of decisions made by juries in common law issues. According to an article at Wikipedia, "Unlike most of the Bill of Rights, the Supreme Court has not incorporated the amendment's requirements to the states under the Fourteenth Amendment" (4) This was decided by SCOTUS in the case of CURTIS v. LOETHER, 415 U.S. 189 (1974) (5)
Common law likes to play with Constitutional and Statutory law in ways that are beyond my capacity to unravel and simplify for those of us who don't hold J.D.s. Anyone with knowledge of these intricacies, who possesses that rare quality of being able to make the complex sound simple, is invited (nay, begged) to do so.
As we continue this series, I'd like to restate my purpose here. I want to fully understand and learn from civil, respectful discussion, the full implications and controversies associated with each of our Bill of Rights. It is not now, and has never been, my contention that I understand each of our rights fully. I put forth some of my own, not necessarily correct, interpretations in an effort to promote discussion, understand mistaken interpretations, and develop a deeper grasp of these issues that I can in turn pass on to my children and grandchildren.
Citations and References:
(1) "common law." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008.
Merriam-Webster Online. 28 July 2008
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/common law
(2) "common-law." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008.
Merriam-Webster Online. 28 July 2008
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/common-law
(3) "Common law." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 26 Jul 2008, 10:43 UTC.
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 28 Jul 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_law&oldid=227990906
(4) "Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 6 Jul 2008, 17:57 UTC.
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 28 Jul 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Seventh_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution&oldid=223954173
(5) CURTIS v. LOETHER, 415 U.S. 189 (1974)
FindLaw.com. 28 July 2008
http://www.findlaw.com and http://laws.findlaw.com/us/415/189.html
Poster Comment:
Just found her typing away in obscurity while listening to Red Beckman on the AJS. The power of the juries to instruct the Judge! Juries are above the Supreme Court! 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 by the rules of the common law! Common Law - 7th Amendment - Highest Law of the Land bump