Linked below is a good article discussing the importance our founders placed on the jury civil trial and the threat this fundamental right faces in our current political climate. Forced arbitration clauses and caps on damages are only the first steps in stripping away this constitutionally protected right. Legislatures throughout the country are doing everything they can to make it difficult or impossible for individuals to have their day in Court despite the clear language in the 7th Amendment that the right to a trial by jury shall be “preserved.” It seems these days that only corporations have unfettered access to the courthouse. Clearly this is not what our founders intended.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanne-doroshow/respecting-the-seventh-am_b_6516848.html