This time of year is especially important for our country. We in America honor all of our fallen heroes at the end of May, and we follow up by celebrating our nation’s birth on July Fourth.
Both of these important occasions should give us pause, to reflect on our many rights and freedoms we enjoy in America. These freedoms came at a cost. Many men and women have died in order for us to have our rights and freedom. Each of us should be very proud of the fact we live in a country that protects our constitutional rights.
We often hear about our Constitutional rights as American citizens – the right to free speech, freedom of the press, our right to assemble, our rights to bear arms and even our right to remain silent. But a much less discussed right – but one that is just as crucial – is the right to a jury trial.
The seventh amendment to the Constitution preserves the right to a jury trial in civil cases involving “common law” claims, such as personal injury cases. The founders of our nation foresaw the need for people to be properly compensated for their loss when they have been injured by another citizen who does not want to take full responsibility for their actions.
In our firm’s work, we represent individuals who have been injured due to the improper actions of another. In our society, we often hear the phrase, “We should each be responsible for our own actions!” Unfortunately, many do not want to be responsible for the costs they have caused others to incur due to their own improper activity.
In the jury system, you have a right to have a group of your peers determine the damage that was caused to you by the wrongful actions of another. A jury of your fellow citizens can decide how to make the at-fault party properly compensate you for how you have been affected by an incident caused by another.
This is not a “lottery”, not a gamble, not a chance to get rich. This a constitutional right you have to be placed in the same or similar condition that you were in before the accident. Our system grants you the right to receive fair compensation for your loss. It forces the wrongdoer to be properly responsible for their, wrongdoing.
This early summer when I celebrate our freedoms, I will take time out to be grateful for the constitutional right to a jury of my peers should someone’s improper activity injure my family member or myself.
May we all be grateful for our right to a jury as well as all of the rights and freedoms we enjoy due to the sacrifice of so many!