American Publishing Co. v. Fisher

Citations

• 166 U.S. 464
• 17 S. Ct. 618
• 41 L. Ed. 1079
• 1897 U.S. LEXIS 2038

Syllabus

<p>The statute of the Territory of Utah (Compiled Laws of 1888, § 3371, as amended in 1892) providing that “ in all civil cases a verdict may be rendered on the concurrence therein of nine or more members of the .jury,” if not invalid under the Seventh Amendment to the Constitution, is so as violating the provision in the act of September 9,1850, c. 51, admitting Utah as a Territory, that “ the Constitution and laws of the United States are hereby extended over and declared to be in force in said Territory of Utah, so far as the same or any provisions thereof may be applicable,” and the act of April 7, 1874, c. 80, “ concerning the practice in territorial courts, and appeals therefrom,” which provided that no party “shall be deprived of the right of trial by jury in cases cognizable at common law.”</p> <p>Litigants in common law actions- in the courts of that Territory, while it remained a Territory, had a right to trial by jury, which involved unanimity in the verdict, and this right could not be taken away by territorial legislation.</p> <p>The power of a State to change the rule in respect of unanimity of juries is not before the court in this case.</p>