General Box Company v. United States/Concurrence Frankfurter

Mr. Justice FRANKFURTER, concurring.

The conflicting views between two members and the rest of this Court on the law of Louisiana relevant to the issue in this case prove once more what a precarious business it is for us to adjudicate a federal issue dependent on what the Court finds to be state law, when the highest court of a State has not given us authoritative guidance regarding its law. In like situations I have, from time to time, suggested that legal procedure is not without resources for enabling us to found our decision securely on state law. See, e.g., Propper v. Clark, 337 U.S. 472, 493, 69 S.Ct. 1333, 1345, 93 L.Ed. 1480 (dissenting in part). By means of the declaratory judgment (it is available in Louisiana, LSA-Rev.Stat. 13:4231 et seq.) or otherwise, it ought to be possible to suspend definitive judgment on the federal issue until a pronouncement can be had from the state court on controlling state law. For myself I am prepared so to proceed here. In default of it, I concur in the opinion and judgment of the Court.

Mr. Justice DOUGLAS, with whom Mr. Justice HARLAN concurs, dissenting.