Seventh Amendment
The Seventh Amendment continues a practice from English common law of distinguishing civil claims which must be tried before a jury (absent waiver by the parties)
from claims and issues that may be heard by a judge alone.
It only governs federal civil courts and has no application to civil courts set up by the states when those courts are hearing only disputes of state law.
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 reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Common Law
Law that is derived from judicial decisions instead of from statutes. Early American common law was taken from English common law. See, e.g. Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida, 517 U.S. 44 (1996).
Civil Procedure
Broadly speaking, civil procedure consists of the rules by which courts conduct civil trials. "Civil trials" concern the judicial resolution of claims by one individual or group against another and are to be distinguished from "criminal trials," in which the state prosecutes an individual for violation of criminal law.
"Procedure" is to be distinguished from "substantive law" in that substantive law defines the rights and duties of everyday conduct, such as in contract law or tort law.
A procedural system provides the mechanism for applying substantive law to real disputes.
Such a system sets guidelines as to what information the judge or jury receives, how that information is to be presented, and by what standards of proof (e.g., "beyond a reasonable doubt,"
"by clear and convincing evidence," "by a preponderance of the evidence") the information will be adjudged. An effective procedural system ensures that similar cases will be treated similarly by the courts.
Although the majority of suits filed in the United States are settled before trial through negotiated settlements or arbitration, "civil procedure" strictly defined applies only in formal courts of law.
Under the U.S. "common law" system, the initial burden is on the complaining party (the "Plaintiff") to file suit in court. The Plaintiff also has the initial burden of demonstrating that she has a legitimate claim.
In the U.S., civil procedure usually takes the form of a series of rules and judicial practices. The federal courts follow the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; the state courts follow their own state rules of civil procedure.
In federal courts, evidentiary rules are governed by the Federal Rules of Evidence. The state courts follow their own state rules of evidence.
Federal Rules of Evidence
(As amended to December 1, 2014)
•ARTICLE I. GENERAL PROVISIONS◦Rule 101. Scope; Definitions
◦Rule 102. Purpose
◦Rule 103. Rulings on Evidence
◦Rule 104. Preliminary Questions
◦Rule 105. Limiting Evidence That Is Not Admissible Against Other Parties or for Other Purposes
◦Rule 106. Remainder of or Related Writings or Recorded Statements
•ARTICLE II. JUDICIAL NOTICE◦Rule 201. Judicial Notice of Adjudicative Facts
•ARTICLE III. PRESUMPTIONS IN CIVIL CASES◦Rule 301. Presumptions in Civil Cases Generally
◦Rule 302. Applying State Law to Presumptions in Civil Cases
•ARTICLE IV. RELEVANCE AND ITS LIMITS◦Rule 401. Test for Relevant Evidence
◦Rule 402. General Admissibility of Relevant Evidence
◦Rule 403. Excluding Relevant Evidence for Prejudice, Confusion, Waste of Time, or Other Reasons
◦Rule 404. Character Evidence; Crimes or Other Acts
◦Rule 405. Methods of Proving Character
◦Rule 406. Habit; Routine Practice
◦Rule 407. Subsequent Remedial Measures
◦Rule 408. Compromise Offers and Negotiations
◦Rule 409. Offers to Pay Medical and Similar Expenses
◦Rule 410. Pleas, Plea Discussions, and Related Statements
◦Rule 411. Liability Insurance
◦Rule 412. Sex-Offense Cases: The Victim’s Sexual Behavior or Predisposition
◦Rule 413. Similar Crimes in Sexual-Assault Cases
◦Rule 414. Similar Crimes in Child Molestation Cases
◦Rule 415. Similar Acts in Civil Cases Involving Sexual Assault or Child Molestation
•ARTICLE V. PRIVILEGES◦Rule 501. Privilege in General
◦Rule 502. Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product; Limitations on Waiver
•ARTICLE VI. WITNESSES◦Rule 601. Competency to Testify in General
◦Rule 602. Need for Personal Knowledge
◦Rule 603. Oath or Affirmation to Testify Truthfully
◦Rule 604. Interpreter
◦Rule 605. Judge’s Competency as a Witness
◦Rule 606. Juror’s Competency as a Witness
◦Rule 607. Who May Impeach a Witness
◦Rule 608. A Witness’s Character for Truthfulness or Untruthfulness
◦Rule 609. Impeachment by Evidence of a Criminal Conviction
◦Rule 610. Religious Beliefs or Opinions
◦Rule 611. Mode and Order of Examining Witnesses and Presenting Evidence
◦Rule 612. Writing Used to Refresh a Witness’s Memory
◦Rule 613. Witness’s Prior Statement
◦Rule 614. Court’s Calling or Examining a Witness
◦Rule 615. Excluding Witnesses
•ARTICLE VII. OPINIONS AND EXPERT TESTIMONY◦Rule 701. Opinion Testimony by Lay Witnesses
◦Rule 702. Testimony by Expert Witnesses
◦Rule 703. Bases of an Expert’s Opinion Testimony
◦Rule 704. Opinion on an Ultimate Issue
◦Rule 705. Disclosing the Facts or Data Underlying an Expert’s Opinion
◦Rule 706. Court-Appointed Expert Witnesses
•ARTICLE VIII. HEARSAY◦Rule 801. Definitions That Apply to This Article; Exclusions from Hearsay
◦Rule 802. The Rule Against Hearsay
◦Rule 803. Exceptions to the Rule Against Hearsay — Regardless of Whether the Declarant Is Available as a Witness
◦Rule 804. Hearsay Exceptions; Declarant Unavailable
◦Rule 805. Hearsay Within Hearsay
◦Rule 806. Attacking and Supporting the Declarant’s Credibility
◦Rule 807. Residual Exception
•ARTICLE IX. AUTHENTICATION AND IDENTIFICATION◦Rule 901. Authenticating or Identifying Evidence
◦Rule 902. Evidence That Is Self-Authenticating
◦Rule 903. Subscribing Witness’s Testimony
•ARTICLE X. CONTENTS OF WRITINGS, RECORDINGS, AND PHOTOGRAPHS◦Rule 1001. Definitions That Apply to This Article
◦Rule 1002. Requirement of the Original
◦Rule 1003. Admissibility of Duplicates
◦Rule 1004. Admissibility of Other Evidence of Content
◦Rule 1005. Copies of Public Records to Prove Content
◦Rule 1006. Summaries to Prove Content
◦Rule 1007. Testimony or Statement of a Party to Prove Content
◦Rule 1008. Functions of the Court and Jury
•ARTICLE XI. MISCELLANEOUS RULES◦Rule 1101. Applicability of the Rules
◦Rule 1102. Amendments
◦Rule 1103. Title
Effective Date and Application of Rules
Pub. L. 93–595, §1, Jan. 2, 1975, 88 Stat. 1926, provided: “That the following rules shall take effect on the one hundred and eightieth day [July 1, 1975] beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act [Jan. 2, 1975]. These rules apply to actions, cases, and proceedings brought after the rules take effect.
These rules also apply to further procedure in actions, cases, and proceedings then pending, except to the extent that application of the rules would not be feasible, or would work injustice, in which event former evidentiary principles apply.”
Historical Note
The Federal Rules of Evidence were adopted by order of the Supreme Court on Nov. 20, 1972, transmitted to Congress by the Chief Justice on Feb. 5, 1973, and to have become effective on July 1, 1973. Pub. L. 93–12, Mar. 30, 1973, 87 Stat. 9, provided that the proposed rules “shall have no force or effect except to the extent,
and with such amendments, as they may be expressly approved by Act of Congress”. Pub. L. 93–595, Jan. 2, 1975, 88 Stat. 1926, enacted the Federal Rules of Evidence proposed by the Supreme Court, with amendments made by Congress, to take effect on July 1, 1975.
The Rules have been amended Oct. 16, 1975, Pub. L. 94–113, §1, 89 Stat. 576, eff. Oct. 31, 1975; Dec. 12, 1975, Pub. L. 94–149, §1, 89 Stat. 805; Oct. 28, 1978, Pub. L. 95–540, §2, 92 Stat. 2046; Nov. 6, 1978, Pub. L. 95–598, title II, §251, 92 Stat. 2673, eff. Oct. 1, 1979; Apr. 30, 1979, eff. Dec. 1, 1980; Apr. 2, 1982, Pub. L. 97–164, title I, §142, title IV, §402, 96 Stat. 45, 57, eff. Oct. 1, 1982; Oct. 12, 1984, Pub. L. 98–473, title IV, §406, 98 Stat. 2067; Mar. 2, 1987, eff. Oct. 1, 1987; Apr. 25, 1988, eff. Nov. 1, 1988; Nov. 18, 1988, Pub. L. 100–690, title VII, §§7046, 7075, 102 Stat. 4400, 4405; Jan. 26, 1990, eff. Dec. 1, 1990; Apr. 30, 1991, eff. Dec. 1, 1991; Apr. 22, 1993, eff. Dec. 1, 1993; Apr. 29, 1994, eff. Dec. 1, 1994; Sept. 13, 1994, Pub. L. 103–322, title IV, §40141, title XXXII, §320935, 108 Stat. 1918, 2135; Apr. 11, 1997, eff. Dec. 1, 1997; Apr. 24, 1998, eff. Dec. 1, 1998; Apr. 17, 2000, eff. Dec. 1, 2000; Mar. 27, 2003, eff. Dec. 1, 2003; Apr. 12, 2006, eff. Dec. 1, 2006; Sept. 19, 2008, Pub. L. 110–322, §1(a), 122 Stat. 3537; Apr. 28, 2010, eff. Dec. 1, 2010; Apr. 26, 2011, eff. Dec. 1, 2011; Apr. 16, 2013, eff. Dec. 1, 2013; Apr. 25, 2014, eff. Dec. 1, 2014.
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