Sen. Jessie Ulibarri, one of the sponsors of Senate Bill 177, says its main purpose is to get homeowners and builders to achieve resolution in disputes over construction defects before they falls too deeply into the legal system. (Thinkstock)
Re: “Construction-defects issue gets lengthy hearing in Colorado Senate,” March 19 news story.
In your article concerning Colorado’s proposed construction-defects law, which would take away the right to jury trials in construction-defect cases, state Sen. Jessie Ulibarri said that the constitutional right to jury trials is only guaranteed in criminal cases, and not civil ones. That statement is not accurate.
The Seventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to a jury trial in both civil and criminal cases in the U.S. District Courts. And the Colorado Constitution provides in part that “the right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate in criminal cases; but a jury in civil cases in all courts, or in criminal cases in courts not of record, may consist of less than twelve persons, as may be prescribed by law.” Although the Colorado Supreme Court has stated that there is no constitutional right to a trial by jury in a civil action, there is a right to a jury trial in a civil case provided in the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure.
The value of the right to trial by jury cannot be overstated. Preserving that right is essential to the fair and equitable administration of justice in our country.
We strongly oppose any legislation the effect of which is to further erode this most important right provided by our judicial system.
Jeffrey M. Villanueva,Denver
The writer is president of the Colorado chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates.
This letter was published in the March 28 edition.
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