Opinion ID: 2376388
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Heading: Bill of Rights Jury Article

Text: Article I, Section 15, contains a jury provision similar to that found in the United States Constitution and every other state constitution. It states simply that the right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate.... In our opinion the Bill of Rights Article preserved the right to a trial by jury in a suit for the collection of civil penalties. It is well-established that the Bill of Rights provision continues the right to a jury in all actions where that right existed at the time the Constitution was adopted. White v. White, 108 Tex. 570, 196 S.W. 508 (1917); Hatten v. City of Houston, 373 S.W.2d 525 (Tex.Civ.App.1963, writ ref'd n. r. e.); Hickman v. Smith, 238 S.W.2d 838 (Tex.Civ.App.1951, writ ref'd). This interpretation is uniformly given to similar provisions in other jurisdictions. 47 Am.Jur.2d, Jury § 29 at 649 (1969). Texas, by successive constitutions both as a Republic and as a State, has protected the right to a trial by jury in those cases where a jury would have been proper at common law. Tex.Const. art. I, § 15 (1876); Tex. Const. art. I, § 12 (1868); Tex.Const. art. I, § 12 (1866); Tex.Const. art. I, § 12 (1861); Tex.Const. art. I, § 12 (1845); Const. of the Republic of Texas, Declaration of Rights, #9 (1836); see White v. White, supra ; Grigsby v. Reib, 105 Tex. 597, 153 S.W. 1124 (1913); Cockrill v. Cox, 65 Tex. 669 (1886); 47 Am.Jur.2d, Jury § 17 (1969). At common law, suits for civil penalties were tried as actions for debt, and actions for debt were triable before a jury. 47 Am.Jur.2d, Jury §§ 17, 36 (1969); 1 Chitty, Pleadings 263 (3d ed. 1819); 50 C.J.S. Juries § 10 (1947); 3 Wendell's Blackstone's Commentaries 161-162 (1847). In Hepner v. United States, 213 U.S. 103, 29 S.Ct. 474, 53 L.Ed. 720 (1909), the United States brought suit to recover the penalty provided for the violation of the Alien Immigration Act. The court reviewed and cited a number of precedents holding that actions for penalties are recoverable in civil actions and held the defendant was, of course, entitled to have a jury summoned in this case. United States v. Hindman, 179 F.Supp. 926 (D.N.J.1960), held that the defendants were entitled to a jury in a suit brought against them by the United States for civil penalties for violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act, a statute very similar to the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, article 5069, section 10.01 et seq. See also, Damsky v. Zavatt, 289 F.2d 46 (2d Cir. 1961); Connolly v. United States, 149 F.2d 666 (9th Cir. 1945); Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry. v. United States, 178 F. 12 (8th Cir. 1910); United States v. Friedland, 94 F.Supp. 721 (D.Conn.1950); United States v. Jepson, 90 F.Supp. 983 (D.N.J. 1950); 5 Moore's Federal Practice, § 38.31[1], 232-233 (2d ed. 1974). The right to a trial by jury is not limited to the precise form of action in which civil penalties were enforceable at common law. The right exists when the action involves rights and remedies of the sort typically enforced in an action at law. Curtis v. Loether, 415 U.S. 189, 94 S.Ct. 1005, 39 L.Ed.2d 260 (1974); 5 Moore's Federal Practice, § 38.11[7], 128 (2d ed. 1974).