Law Commons^™

Interstitial Lawmaking: Uniformity Or Conformity?, Lillian Harris Lockary

Mercer Law Review

When Congress does not fully address the substantive law contemplated by a statute, federal courts have the responsibility to fashion a governing rule of decision according to their own standards-the conflict of laws rules of the forum. More precisely, the task of judicial legislation could be labeled one of interstitial lawmaking, of interpreting an indeterminate statute, rather than conflict of law. If subject matter jurisdiction is founded on a federal statute, and not diversity of citizenship, the source of law for the litigation is federal, and the rule of Erie R.R. v. Tompkins, that state law applies of its …