america's favorite f-words: "founding fathers"

[rone]

Amendment VII

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

The question i have is, what does twenty 1789 dollars come out to be in today's currency?

Oh, and another question: why twenty dollars?

Comments

[cheesetruck.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure that's where you draw the line of 'not really worth filling up the courts with small items' - i.e. small claims vs other courts.

But, given how lawyers can't deal with things that aren't 'exact' I'm surprized it wasn't amended or revised to read 'twenty dollars of value, or the equivalent with inflation to the date of trial' or something.

But I hate lawyers and law anyway.