Amendment VII

Amendment VII

“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.”

This amendment was adapted from the British policy of trying cases that were matters of civil law as opposed to criminal as Common Law cases. This amendment declares that civil suits, which are between individuals, with damages resulting in twenty dollars are considered a Common law matter. Civil suits result in verdicts that award monetary compensation and require a preponderance of evidence rather than proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Civil courts are often used to bring individuals to civil justice who have been acquitted of criminal charges.                

I included this video because it is an example of how celebrities are often targets for civil suits because they have a lot of money and because it is easier to sue an individual. In this video, a professional athlete was sued by a car dealership for its damages and losses as a result of a car being impounded. Burress had to pay over one thousand dollars to the rental car company

I choose this video clip because it explains what civil cases or common law cases are and some of the elements of them. I liked how the video described the different types of civil cases that exist.