ChapterScope This chapter is concerned with how federal and state courts determine what law to follow. For instance, in a diversity case, is the federal judge required to apply the law of the state in which she sits, or is she free to decide on her own, following other federal cases, what the law should be? In a state case involving a subject of federal concern (e.g., U.S. government bonds), to what extent is the state court obligated to apply principles formulated in federal cases?
The bulk of this chapter is concerned with the choice of law in diversity cases. The choice of law in federal question cases, and in state cases involving matters of federal interest, is treated at the end of the chapter.
Key concepts in this Chapter are: