The Seventh Amendment guarantees jury trials in federal civil lawsuits over $20, but the Supreme Court ruled states don't have to follow it. In Walker v. Sauvinet in 1875 and Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad v. Bombolis in 1916, the court left states free to handle civil cases however they want. Forty-nine states chose to guarantee civil juries in their own constitutions anyway, covering 98.5% of Americans. Only Louisiana stands apart. Despite these protections, juries decide less than 1% of civil cases filed today because most settle before trial. The Seventh Amendment is the only Bill of Rights guarantee that applies exclusively in federal courts, not state courts. Federal civil rights suits, patent disputes, and diversity cases all carry jury rights. State courts operate under their own rules. That means a wrongful death case in federal court gets a jury, but the same case in Louisiana state court might not.