Columbus, OH – On Thursday, The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Thomas v. County of Humboldt, California, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and declare that the right to a civil jury trial—enumerated in the Seventh Amendment of the U.S. Constitution—applies to the states under the Fourteenth Amendment’s privileges or immunities clause.

“This case presents the court with an opportunity to reinvigorate the privileges or immunities clause and restore it to its respected place in American jurisprudence,” said David C. Tryon, director of litigation at The Buckeye Institute. 

In its brief, The Buckeye Institute argues that:

• The Fourteenth Amendment was intended to incorporate the first eight amendments against the states; and 
• Privileges or immunities includes the right to trial by jury in civil suits. 

“No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” Those words in the Fourteenth Amendment, known as the privileges or immunities clause, make it clear that the Fourteenth Amendment extended the right to a civil jury trial to citizens in state court. Simply put, the rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution apply to the federal and state governments alike.

The Institute for Justice represents Corrine Morgan Thomas and Doug Thomas, Blu Graham, Rhonda Olson, and Cyro Glad in Thomas v. County of Humboldt, California.

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