On June 10, United States Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, a member of the United States Senate Judiciary Committee and a former U.S. Attorney, wrote an article that explains how the Supreme Court and Congress have watered down the Constitution’s guarantee of a right to a civil jury trial.
Many of our clients are surprised to learn that judges have the discretion to dismiss cases prior to trial, despite the Constitutional guarantee, and that many cases are forced into mandatory arbitration to be decided by one or more arbitrators rather than juries.
Unfortunately, many politicians who claim to be “strict constructionists” of the United States Constitution have failed to take any action to prevent the erosion of your constitutional right to a jury trial.
For a more complete analysis, see this link.
