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Erie's Suppressed Premise, Michael S. Green
Erie's Suppressed Premise, Michael S. Green
Michael S. Green
The Erie doctrine is usually understood as a limitation on federal courts’ power. This Article concerns the unexplored role that the Erie doctrine has in limiting the power of state courts. According to Erie Railroad v. Tompkins, a federal court must follow state supreme court decisions when interpreting state law. But at the time that Erie was decided, some state supreme courts were still committed to Swift v. Tyson. They considered the content of their common law to be a factual matter, concerning which federal (and sister state) courts could make an independent judgment. Indeed, the Georgia Supreme Court still …
Horizontal Erie And The Presumption Of Forum Law, Michael S. Green
Horizontal Erie And The Presumption Of Forum Law, Michael S. Green
Michael S. Green
According to Erie Railroad v. Tompkins and its progeny, a federal court interpreting state law must decide as the state’s supreme court would. In this Article, I argue that a state court interpreting the law of a sister state is subject to the same obligation. It must decide as the sister state’s supreme court would. Horizontal Erie is such a plausible idea, one might think it is already established law. But the Supreme Court has in fact given state courts significant freedom to misinterpret sister state law. And state courts have taken advantage of this freedom, by routinely presuming that …