The clause of the Amendment prohibiting the re-examination of any fact found by a jury is not restricted in its application to suits at common law tried before juries in courts of the United States. It applies equally to a case tried before a jury in a state court and brought to the Supreme Court on appeal.79 Note, however, that the Court has frequently indicated that in cases involving a claim of a denial of constitutional rights it is free to examine and review the evidence upon which lower court conclusions are based, a position that under some circumstances could conflict with the principle of jury autonomy.80
79 The Justices v. Murray, 76 U.S. (9 Wall.) 274, 278 (1870); Chicago, B. & Q. R.R. v. City of Chicago, 166 U.S. 226, 242-46 (1897).
80 See Time, Inc. v. Pape, 401 U.S. 279, 284-92 (1971), and cases cited therein.
Last modified: June 9, 2014