Civil jury trial under attack

 Economic Populist -  The civil jury trial is one of America’s oldest and most democratic institutions. Enshrined in the Bill of Rights, it was designed as a check against the abuses of the British monarchy and wealthy merchants. Yet, today, it is dying. Last year, less than 1% of federal civil lawsuits actually went to trial, and courts are dismissing civil cases at earlier stages and more often. Those that do make it to discovery are bogged down by higher costs and endless delays, so cases can drag on for nearly a decade or longer.

This throttling of litigation is no accident. The Seventh Amendment right to a civil jury trial is under assault. The assailant? Corporations who want to avoid accountability and maintain their stranglehold on our economy. They are using their power and influence to both slow the legal process down and convince courts that most lawsuits are frivolous, harmful, and just too expensive, allowing them to avoid accountability by keeping their misdeeds out of the public eye and away from citizen juries.

As a result, over time, our judicial system has been deliberately shaped to keep private plaintiffs out of court and away from juries. More and more people are pushed into private arbitration—an opaque process that tends to favor the wealthy and powerful – which is just what corporate America wants. When lawsuits stay in federal court, judges have taken over as the main deciders of factual disputes.