2011 Forum for State Appellate Court Judges The Jury Trial Implosion: The Decline of Trial by Jury and Its Significance for Appellate Courts STATE CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS, STATUTES, AND COURT DECISIONS ON TRIAL BY JURY ____________________ The following compilation of state provisions governing trial by jury was researched by Taylor Asen, Yale Law School Class of 2012. If you know of other relevant state jury trial provisions that might be included in it, please write to Jim Rooks, Executive Director, at
[email protected]. ____________________ ALABAMA Constitution The Alabama Constitution Article 1, Section 11 states: “the right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate.” The constitutional guarantee doesn’t include equitable claims or claims unknown at common law. Sanders v. Kirkland & Co., 510 So. 2d 138 (Ala. 1987). Law/Equity Distinction Purely legal claims, and factual issues relevant to legal and equitable issues, must be decided by the jury. Wootten v. Ivey, 877 So.2d 585 (Ala. 2003). Damage Caps Cap on non-economic damages violated the right to trial by jury. Smith v. Schulte, 671 So.2d 1334, 1342-46 (Ala. 1995). Jury Fees $50 civil jury trial fee, pursuant to §§ 12-19-71(4), 12-19-72(4), was not unconstitutional infringement on right to jury trial in civil case. In a case in which the fee for a jury trial wasn’t paid on time, it was error to refuse to allow the jury trial, where no delay or prejudice to rights of the adverse party would be occasioned. Proctor v. Garrison, 571 So. 2d 1208 (Ala.