Wake a judge or lawyer out of a sound sleep at three in the morning and ask “who makes credibility determinations in our judicial system?” Without hesitation or forethought, all will answer “jurors.” Yes, of course, there are bench trials, administrative hearings, and the like where the presiding judge or officer evaluates credibility, but it is a hallmark of our judicial system that where a jury is involved, the credibility of a witness is for the jurors, and jurors alone, to determine.

The U.S. Constitution’s Seventh Amendment provides: “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.” Article 1, §2 of the New York State Constitution enshrines the right to a jury: “Trial by jury in all cases in which it has heretofore been guaranteed by constitutional provision shall remain inviolate forever …”

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