| Venue: | SCOTUS |
| Facts: | Byrd got injured during a construction job. Sues in tort, and the big issue is whether he's a "statutory" employee, which would mean his only remedy would be workers' comp. |
| Posture: | Remanding to the lower courts. |
| Issue: | Should the factual issue here be decided by the judge or by the jury? |
| Holding: | Jury. |
| Rule: | 7A: the function assigned to the jury is an essential factor in the federal judicial process. |
| Reasoning: | SC says judges make this determination. If outcome were the only factor, maybe federal courts should follow the state, because possibly juries would make the determination differently. But the federal system is an independent system for administering justice, and we have juries decide disputed questions of fact. And here there's no guarantee that the outcome would be different; certainly the possibility is not strong enough as to require the adoption of the state policy. |
| Dicta: | |