European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 8, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 stars and stripes sunday april 82007 ban my by a team c 2007 my company inc Rounth and eighth amendments seventh amendment parti in suits at common Law where the value in controversy shall exceed the right of trial by jury shall be preserved words to know common Law Law based on custom or tradition it is sometimes called judge made Law judges make their decisions based on what has been decided in the past common Law is different from Laws made by Legislatures or lawmaking groups these Laws Are called statutes controversy disagreement part 2 and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re examined in any court of the United states than according to the rules of common Law meaning once a jury reaches a decision based on the facts of a Case the facts cannot be reviewed by a judge this limits the Power of a judge to change a Jurys decision what the v1rwct the big idea Thomas Jefferson thought that the right to serve on juries was an important right of the people in our country people Are innocent until proven guilty these amendments were added to make certain that everyone accused of a crime is treated in a just Way by the courts the rules Are fair the fair rules have to be applied in a fair Way the fair rules apply to everybody what jurors do listen to the evidence consider the facts not talk about the Case or watch or listen to news reports about it when lawyers from both sides have finished arguing their Case the jurors must listen when the judge tells them about the Laws involved they then meet in private to discuss the Case and reach a decision selecting juries when there is to be a trial the court sends out notices to More people than Are needed to serve on the jury the list is made up of citizens who have registered to vote or who have been issued Drivers licenses this group is called the jury Pool this is the fifth in a monthly series about the Bill of rights the mini Page thanks the staff of the National archives and Lee Ann Potter director of education and Volunteer programs for their help with this Issue site to see  eighth amendment excessive bait shall not be required nor excessive fines imposed nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted words to know excessive High Well above what is usual bail the amount of Money that a person might save to Post or Deposit with the court by posting bail the accused can stay out of jail before the trial the bail Money is returned when the accused person appears at the trial in some cases the crime is so serious that the accused person is not permitted to Post bail in this Case he or she must stay in jail until the trial inflicted cause to be suffered meaning this amendment Means that your punishment should not be unfair for example you could not receive a life sentence for stealing a piece of bread the British sometimes tortured their prisoners they often kept people in jail by setting their bail too High these amendments help give citizens the right of due process or the right to be treated fairly by their government the mini Page thanks Claire Griffin vice president of educational programs the Bill of rights Institute for her help with this Issue site to see  next week the sixth seventh and eighth amendments