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Jury Right Not Absolute When ‘Public Rights’ Are Litigated

1977

In Atlas Roofing Co. v. OSHRC, the U.S. Supreme Court rules unanimously that it is not a violation of the Seventh Amendment for Congress to give authority to an administrative agency rather than a jury to decide whether a violation of a federal statute has occurred. The Court finds that Congress acted constitutionally when it created the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) to decide whether an Occupational Safety and Health Act violation has occurred.