Felix Frankfurter
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
1882 - 1965
Leading advocate of judicial restraint who helped found the ACLU and profoundly influenced constitutional law through both scholarship and judging.
Biography
Felix Frankfurter served on the Supreme Court from 1939 to 1962, bringing a philosophy of judicial restraint that contrasted sharply with the activism he had championed as a progressive scholar and advocate. An Austrian immigrant who became a Harvard Law professor, Frankfurter co-founded the American Civil Liberties Union and advised President Roosevelt during the New Deal.
On the Court, Frankfurter became the leading proponent of judicial restraint, arguing that courts should defer to legislative judgments and avoid reading their own policy preferences into the Constitution. This philosophy put him at odds with Hugo Black and the emerging liberal majority, particularly on questions of incorporation and individual rights.
Frankfurter's most lasting contribution may be his influence on legal education and the legal profession. He placed more law clerks on the Supreme Court than any other professor, and his students went on to positions of enormous influence in government, academia, and practice. His scholarly work on federal jurisdiction, administrative law, and criminal procedure remains foundational.
Major Accomplishments
- 1Co-founded the American Civil Liberties Union
- 2Leading advocate of judicial restraint on the Supreme Court
- 3Advised President Roosevelt during the New Deal era
- 4Mentored an extraordinary number of future judges and legal scholars
- 5Made foundational contributions to administrative law and federal jurisdiction
Notable Opinions & Cases
Minersville School District v. Gobitis
1940
Upheld compulsory flag salute for Jehovah's Witnesses, later overruled by West Virginia v. Barnette
Rochin v. California
1952
Applied the 'shocks the conscience' test for police conduct under due process
Baker v. Carr (dissent)
1962
Argued that reapportionment was a political question beyond judicial competence
Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (concurrence)
1952
Analyzed executive power through historical practice and congressional acquiescence
Legacy
Frankfurter embodies the tension between progressive values and judicial restraint. His philosophy of deference to democratic institutions influenced generations of judges across the political spectrum. While many of his specific positions have been superseded, his arguments for judicial humility and institutional competence remain vital in contemporary debates about the proper role of courts.
Famous Quotes
“It is a fair summary of constitutional history that the landmarks of judicial power have been forged in cases of controversy involving the rights of unpopular people.”
“Fragile as reason is and limited as law is as the expression of the institutionalized medium of reason, that's all we have standing between us and the tyranny of mere will and the cruelty of unbridled, undisciplined feeling.”
“Wisdom too often never comes, and so one ought not to reject it merely because it comes late.”
“The Court's authority—possessed of neither the purse nor the sword—ultimately rests on sustained public confidence in its moral sanction.”