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My name is Suja Thomas and I'm a professor of law at

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the University of Illinois, and I studied juries for about twenty years.

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The US stands out as one of the few countries in the world where juries

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decide civil disputes, and that is controversies over money.

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But why did the US pick a jury to decide?

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To understand, we have to go back and look at the origins of the jury.

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The jury made its way to America during British colonization in the seventeenth century.

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As tensions grew leading up to the American Revolution,

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the jury became an asset to the colonists. In response to British oppression,

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such as the prosecution of people for criticizing the government,

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juries would nullify, and that is not follow the law.

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In one case, the John Peter Zenger case,

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John Peter Zenger published a piece that denounced the royal governor of New York.

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Even though what he did was illegal,

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the jury did not convict,

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so juries actually protected the colonies.

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The problem was, the British started diverting

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cases away from juries to themselves to decide.

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The colonies were very upset by this and other British aggressions.

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In response, the colonists wrote a document noting their grievances against the king.

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This Declaration of Independence explicitly stated

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that the king deprived us in many cases of trial by jury.

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After gaining independence, the founders set out to protect the right to a jury trial.

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They set forth in the Constitution that the trial of all crimes,

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except in cases of impeachment,

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shall be by jury.

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But there was a debate as to whether or not we should

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protect the trial by jury in civil cases.

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Many refused to sign unless there was a promise of

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a future right to a jury trial in civil cases.

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The resulting Bill of Rights included

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the Seventh Amendment and secured the right to a jury trial in civil cases.

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If you'd like to learn more about the jury in America today,

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please visit wethepeoplewethejury.com.