Amendment 7 — Appeals From State Courts To The Supreme Court

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Seventh Amendment :

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.

The Seventh Amendment clause prohibiting re-examination of any fact found by a jury is not restricted in its application to suits at common law tried before juries in federal courts. It applies equally to cases tried before a jury in a state court and brought to the Supreme Court on appeal.[1](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-7/appeals-from-state-courts-to-the-supreme-court#fn1amd7 " The Justices v. Murray, 76 U.S. (9 Wall.) 274, 278 (1870); Chi., B. & Q. R.R. v. Chicago, 166 U.S. 226, 242–46 (1897). ") However, the Supreme Court has indicated that, in cases involving a claim of a denial of constitutional rights, it is free to examine and review the evidence upon which the lower court based its conclusions, a position that under some circumstances could conflict with the principle of jury autonomy.[2](https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-7/appeals-from-state-courts-to-the-supreme-court#fn2amd7 " See Time, Inc. v. Pape, 401 U.S. 279, 284–92 (1971). ")

Footnotes

1

The Justices v. Murray, 76 U.S. (9 Wall.) 274 , 278 (1870); Chi., B. & Q. R.R. v. Chicago, 166 U.S. 226 , 242–46 (1897).

2

See Time, Inc. v. Pape, 401 U.S. 279 , 284–92 (1971).