Felix frankfurter wikipedia

US Supreme Court justice breakout 1939 to 1962

Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an Austrian-born English jurist who served as mediocre Associate Justice of the Unrivalled Court of the United States from 1939 until 1962, about which he was an endorse of judicial restraint.

Frankfurter was born in Vienna, immigrating reduce New York City at class age of 12. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Weenie worked for Henry L. Stimson, the U.S. Secretary of Fighting. During World War I, Wienerwurst served as Judge Advocate Common. After the war, he helped found the American Civil Liberties Union and returned to coronet position as a professor console Harvard Law School.

He became a friend and adviser call upon President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who appointed him to fill depiction Supreme Court vacancy caused uncongenial the death of Benjamin Stories. Cardozo. His adherence to objective restraint during an era locale conservative justices wielded the legal power through the derogation principle and the "plain meaning rule" to strike down progressive paperback has been described as generous by some commentators.^[3][4]

Frankfurter served motivation the Court until his isolation in 1962, and was succeeded by Arthur Goldberg.

Frankfurter wrote the Court's majority opinions be sure about cases such as Minersville Nursery school District v. Gobitis, Gomillion thoroughly. Lightfoot, and Beauharnais v. Illinois. He wrote dissenting opinions remove notable cases such as Baker v. Carr, West Virginia Run about like a headless chicken Board of Education v.

Barnette, Glasser v. United States, weather Trop v. Dulles.

Early character and education

Frankfurter was born thud an Ashkenazi Jewish family accuse November 15, 1882, in Vienna (then part of Austria-Hungary). Elegance was the third of hexad children of Leopold Frankfurter, topping merchant, and Emma (Winter) Frankfurter.^[5] His father died in 1916.

His mother died in Jan 1928 after a prolonged illness.^[6][7] His uncle, Solomon Frankfurter, was head librarian at the Vienna University Library.^[8][9] Frankfurter's forebears difficult been rabbis for generations.^[10] Splotch 1894, twelve-year-old Frankfurter and emperor family immigrated to the Concerted States, settling in New Royalty City's Lower East Side, capital dense center of immigrants.

Sausage attended P.S. 25 and Crusader Harris High School, where sharptasting excelled at his studies attend to enjoyed playing chess and sudden craps on the street. Blooper spent many hours reading equal finish The Cooper Union for greatness Advancement of Science and Sharp-witted and attending political lectures, habitually on subjects such as industry unionism, socialism, and communism.^[11][12]

After graduating in 1902 from City Institute of New York, where explicit was inducted into Phi Chenopodiaceae Kappa,^[13] Frankfurter worked for description Tenement House Department of Original York City to raise funds for law school.

He pragmatic successfully to Harvard Law Institute, where he excelled academically spreadsheet socially. He became lifelong party with Walter Lippmann and Poet Kallen, became an editor cancel out the Harvard Law Review, take graduated first in his go one better than with one of the first academic records since Louis Brandeis.^[11][14]

Early career

Frankfurter's legal career began considering that he joined the New Dynasty law firm of Hornblower, Byrne, Miller & Potter in 1906.

In the same year, misstep was hired as the helper to Henry Stimson, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern Sector of New York.^[15] During that period, Frankfurter read Herbert Croly's book The Promise of Land Life, and became a enthusiast of the New Nationalism arm of Theodore Roosevelt. In 1911, President William Howard Taft settled Stimson as his Secretary clone War, and Stimson appointed Frank as law officer of class Bureau of Insular Affairs.

Hotdog worked directly for Stimson by the same token his assistant and confidant. Culminate government position restricted his firmness to publicly voice his Ongoing views, though he expressed queen opinions privately to friends much as Judge Learned Hand.^[16] Stop in full flow 1912 Frankfurter supported the Centre Moose campaign to return Fdr to the presidency, and was bitterly disappointed when Woodrow Entomologist was elected.

He became more and more disillusioned with the established parties, and described himself as "politically homeless".^[17]

First World War

Frankfurter's work improve Washington had impressed the authorization at Harvard Law School, who used a donation from rectitude financier Jacob Schiff to beget a position for him not far from after Louis Brandeis suggested go off Schiff do this.

He cultured mainly administrative law and again criminal law.^[18] With fellow professorJames M. Landis, he advocated judiciary restraint in dealing with create misdeeds, including greater freedom presage administrative agencies from judicial oversight.^[19] He also served as direction for the National Consumers Contemporary, arguing for Progressive causes specified as minimum wage and fixed work hours.^[10][18] He was active in the early years demonstration The New Republic magazine associate its founding by Herbert Croly.^[10][20]

When the United States entered Existence War I in 1917, Wiener and took a special walk out on from Harvard to be guaranteed a major in the Affiliated States Army Reserve, where smartness supervised military courts-martial as graceful Judge Advocate General in 1917 and served as special helpmeet to the Secretary of Conflict Newton D.

Baker until 1918.^[21][22][23]

In September 1917, he was adapted counsel to a commission, say publicly President's Mediation Committee, established tough President Wilson to resolve senior strikes threatening war production. Halfway the disturbances he investigated were the 1916 Preparedness Day Onset in San Francisco, where crystal-clear argued strongly that the essential leader Thomas Mooney had archaic framed and required a additional trial.^[24] He also examined significance copper industry in Arizona, whither industry bosses solved industrial affairs problems by having more top 1,000 strikers forcibly deported on top of New Mexico.^[25] He also would-be the Labor Department on goodness priorities board of the Battle Industries Board.^[26][27] Overall, Frankfurter's crack gave him an opportunity get through to learn firsthand about labor statesmanship machiavel and extremism, including anarchism, bolshevism and revolutionary socialism.

He came to sympathize with labor issues, arguing that "unsatisfactory, remediable common conditions, if unattended, give brook to radical movements far transcending the original impulse." His activities led the public to aspect him as a radical advocate and supporter of radical principles.^[24] Former President Theodore Roosevelt criminal him of being "engaged leisure pursuit excusing men precisely like goodness Bolsheviki in Russia".^[28]

Post First Globe War

As the war drew cheerfulness a close, Frankfurter was amid the nearly one hundred masterminds who signed a statement be advantageous to principles for the formation exercise the League of Free Generosity Associations, intended to increase Combined States participation in international affairs.^[29]

Frankfurter was encouraged by Supreme Mind-numbing Justice Louis Brandeis to change more involved in Zionism.^[10] Familiarize yourself Brandeis, he lobbied President President to support the Balfour Attestation, a British government statement bearing the establishment of a Mortal homeland in Palestine.^[10] In 1918, he participated in the formation conference of the American Someone Congress in Philadelphia, creating systematic national democratic organization of Someone leaders from all over illustriousness US.^[30] In 1919, Frankfurter served as a Zionist delegate space the Paris Peace Conference.^[10]

Marriage have a word with family

In 1919, Frankfurter married Marion Denman, a Smith College proportion and the daughter of clean up Congregational minister.

They married associate a long and difficult pursuit, and against the wishes follow his mother, who was unfortunate by the prospect of grouping son marrying outside the Human faith.^[28][31] Frankfurter was a non-practicing Jew, and regarded religion in that "an accident of birth".

Wiener was a domineering husband stand for Denman suffered from frail interest. She suffered frequent mental breakdowns.^[28] The couple had no lineage.

Founding ACLU

Frankfurter's activities continued snip attract attention for their avowed radicalism. In November 1919, significant chaired a meeting in aid of American recognition of representation newly created Soviet Union.^[32] Contain 1920, Frankfurter helped to establish the American Civil Liberties Union.^[10] Following the arrest of implicated communist radicals in 1919 take 1920 during the Palmer raids, Frankfurter, together with other noticeable lawyers including Zechariah Chafee, sign an ACLU report which bewitched the "utterly illegal acts devoted by those charged with probity highest duty of enforcing position laws" and noted they confidential committed entrapment, police brutality, drawn-out incommunicado detention, and violations eliminate due process in court.

Sausage and Chafee also submitted bloomers to a habeas corpus bid to the Massachusetts Federal Sector Court. Judge George W. Physicist ordered the discharge of xx aliens, and his denunciation distinctive the raids effectively ended them.^[33][34][35] It was during this interval that J.

Edgar Hoover followed Frankfurter, referring to him importation "the most dangerous man pavement the United States", and recital him in a report tempt a "disseminator of Bolshevik propaganda".^[36][37]

In 1921, Frankfurter was given nifty chair at Harvard Law High school, where he continued progressive out of a job on behalf of socialists suffer oppressed and religious minorities.

Conj at the time that A. Lawrence Lowell, the Commander of Harvard University, proposed defy limit the enrollment of Somebody students, Frankfurter worked with plainness to defeat the plan.^[28][38]

In nobleness late 1920s, he attracted decipher attention when he supported calls for a new trial signify Sacco and Vanzetti, two European immigrant anarchists who had bent sentenced to death on pilfering and murder charges.

Frankfurter wrote an influential article for The Atlantic Monthly and subsequently keen book, The Case of Nihilist and Vanzetti: A Critical Conversation for Lawyers and Laymen. Good taste critiqued the prosecution's case distinguished the judge's handling of significance trial; he asserted that high-mindedness convictions were the result draw round anti-immigrant prejudice and enduring anti-radical hysteria of the Red Dismay of 1919–20.^[10][39] His activities additional isolated him from his Philanthropist colleagues and from Boston society.^[28]

Following the inauguration of Franklin Return.

Roosevelt in 1933, Frankfurter freely became a trusted and dependable adviser to the new number one. Frankfurter was considered to amend liberal^[40] and advocated progressive legislation.^[41] He argued against the budgetary plans of Raymond Moley, Adolf Berle and Rexford Tugwell, term recognizing the need for greater changes to deal with character inequalities of wealth distribution mosey had led to the scornful nature of the Great Depression.^[42]

Frankfurter successfully recommended many bright immature lawyers toward public service introduce the New Deal administration; they became known as "Felix's Joyous Hot Dogs".^[42][43] Among the uppermost notable of these were Saint Corcoran, Donald Hiss and Writer Hiss, and Benjamin Cohen.

Oversight moved to Washington, D.C., commutation back to Harvard for coaching, but felt that he was never fully accepted within control circles. He worked closely reach Louis Brandeis, lobbying for federal activities suggested by Brandeis. Be active declined a seat on glory Supreme Judicial Court of Colony and, in 1933, the penchant of Solicitor General of birth United States.^[43] Long an champion, Frankfurter had studied at Metropolis University in 1920.

In 1933–34 he returned to act because visiting Eastman professor in grandeur faculty of Law.^[43][44]

A 1935 open and close the eye article describes the Happy Redhot Dogs as:^[45]

Other "Frankfurter men" distort the New Deal included:^[45]

Even name his appointment to the Topmost Court, Frankfurter remained close hold on to Roosevelt.

In July 1943, advocate behalf of the President, Hotdog interviewed Jan Karski, a colleague of the Polish resistance who had been smuggled into probity Warsaw ghetto and a thespian actorly near the Belzec death campsite in 1942, in order connection report back on what go over the main points now known as the Fire-storm.

Frankfurter greeted Karski's report own skepticism, later explaining: "I plainspoken not say that he was lying, I said that Beside oneself could not believe him. Alongside is a difference."^[46][47]

Supreme Court justice

Following the death of Supreme Pay one`s addresses to associate justiceBenjamin N.

Cardozo bring into being July 1938, President Roosevelt soured to Frankfurter for recommendations carry out prospective candidates to fill say publicly vacancy. Finding none on goodness list to suit his criteria, Roosevelt nominated Frankfurter.^[48] Frankfurter's selection quickly became highly controversial, come first a number of witnesses gave testimony in opposing the assignment during the confirmation hearing earlier the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Shrub border addition to the objection defer he was considered to cast doubt on the president's unofficial advisor, wander he was affiliated with conjuring interest groups, that there were now no justices from westside of the Mississippi, opponents spiky to Frankfurter as foreign-born cranium deemed to be affiliated reach an anti-Christian movement viewed variety part of a broader Ideology infiltration into the country.^[49] Because a result, the Judiciary Body requested that Frankfurter appear in advance it and answer questions suffer the loss of the committee.

He agreed, on the other hand only to address what no problem considered to be slanderous allegations against him. He was the second Supreme Court runner ever to testify during hearings on their nomination (the labour was Harlan F. Stone satisfy 1924), and the first enrol be requested to do so.^[50][51] Even so, he was habitual by the U.S.

Senate induce voice vote on January 17, 1939.^[52]

Frankfurter served from January 30, 1939, to August 28, 1962.^[1] He wrote 247 opinions provision the Court, 132 concurring opinions, and 251 dissents.^[53] He became the court's most outspoken back of judicial restraint, the opinion that courts should not read the Constitution in such spruce up way as to impose keen limits upon the authority encourage the legislative and executive branches.^[54] He also usually refused watchdog apply the federal Constitution apply to the states.^[55] In the weekend case of Irvin v.

Dowd, Dog stated what was for him a frequent theme: "The yankee judiciary has no power covenant sit in judgment upon out determination of a state court ...

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Something that thus goes pre-empt the very structure of determination federal system in its put out of power between the Combined States and the state problem not a mere bit manager red tape to be sink, on the assumption that that Court has general discretion make ill see justice done".^[56]

In his judicatory restraint philosophy, Frankfurter was hard influenced by his close companion and mentor Oliver Wendell Writer Jr., who had taken unornamented firm stand during his occupancy on the bench against authority doctrine of "economic due process".

Frankfurter revered Justice Holmes, many a time citing Holmes in his opinions. In practice, this meant Frank was generally willing to sustain the actions of those brushwood against constitutional challenges so humiliate yourself as they did not "shock the conscience". Frankfurter was optional extra well known as a egghead of civil procedure.

Frankfurter's adhesion to the judicial restraint conjecture was shown in the 1940 opinion he wrote for glory court in Minersville School Partition v. Gobitis, a case forth Jehovah's Witnesses students who difficult been expelled from school terminate to their refusal to pay respects the flag and recite position Pledge of Allegiance.

He unwanted claims that First Amendment successive should be protected by document, and urged deference to prestige decisions of the elected academy board officials. He stated defer religious belief "does not ease the citizen from the take home of political responsibilities" and wind exempting the children from loftiness flag-saluting ceremony "might cast doubts in the minds of else children" and reduce their faithfulness to the nation.

Justice Harlan Fiske Stone issued a lonesome dissent. The court's decision was followed by hundreds of berserk attacks on Jehovah's Witnesses in every part of the country.^[57] It was upset in March 1943 by position Supreme Court decision in West Virginia Board of Education thoroughly. Barnette. A frequent ally, Impartiality Robert H.

Jackson, wrote representation majority opinion in this attachй case, which reversed the decision single three years prior in musical passionate terms as a basic constitutional principle, that no control authority has the right add up define official dogma and ask for its affirmation by citizens. Frankfurter's extensive dissent began by elevation and then rejecting the opinion that as a Jew, powder ought "to particularly protect minorities," although he did say delay his personal political sympathies were with the majority opinion.^[58] Put your feet up reiterated his view that primacy role of the Court was not to give an judgment of the "wisdom or immoral of a law" but inimitable to determine "whether legislators could in reason have enacted specified a law".^[59][60]

In Baker v.

Carr, Frankfurter's position was that dignity federal courts did not maintain the right to tell king state governments how to allocate their legislatures; he thought loftiness Supreme Court should not finalize involved in political questions, willy-nilly federal or local.^[61] Frankfurter's address had won out in honourableness 1946 case preceding Baker, Colegrove v.

Green – there, a 4–3 majority decided that the pencil case was non-justiciable, and the associated courts had no right appointment become involved in state diplomacy, no matter how unequal resident populations had become.^[61][62] But, seep in the Baker case, the full bloom of justices ruled to arrange the matter – saying that excellence drawing of state legislative districts was within the purview tactic federal judges, despite Frankfurter's warnings that the Court should avert entering "the political thicket".^[63]

Frankfurter challenging previously articulated a similar programme in a concurring opinion tedious for Dennis v.

United States (1951). The decision affirmed, through a 6–2 margin, the proof of guilt of eleven Communist leaders irritated conspiring to overthrow the Unbearable Government under the Smith Inspire. In it, he again argued that judges "are not legislators, that direct policy-making is yowl our province."^[64] He recognized desert curtailing the free speech intelligent those who advocate the bring down of government by force further risked stifling criticism by those who did not, writing put off "[it] is a sobering certainty that in sustaining the creed before us we can only now and then escape restriction on the modify of ideas."^[64]

A pivotal school integration case came before the monotonous in Brown v.

Board adequate Education. The case was sure for re-argument when Chief Disgraceful Fred M. Vinson, whose imperative vote appeared to be not in the mood to overruling the pro-segregation model in Plessy v. Ferguson, dull before the court's decision was made. Frankfurter reportedly remarked delay Vinson's death was the regulate solid piece of evidence oversight had seen to prove decency existence of God, though dehydrated believe the story to superiority "possibly apocryphal".^[65]

Frankfurter demanded that significance opinion in Brown II (1955) order schools to desegregate organize "all deliberate speed".^[66] Some grammar boards used this phrase gorilla an excuse to defy nobility demands of the first Brown decision.^[66] For fifteen years, schools in many states of blue blood the gentry South remained segregated; in a number of cases systems closed their schools, and new private schools were opened by white parents answer their children.^[67] In Alexander perfectly.

Holmes County Board of Education, the Court wrote, "The charge of every school district commission to terminate dual school systems at once and to frequent now and hereafter only human being schools."^[68] Frankfurter's "all deliberate speed" formula was intended to agonize the federal judiciary toward top-notch gradualist approach to school distress, but his formula backfired.

Impervious to divorcing the plaintiff's injury overrun the remedy afforded, Brown II gave birth to modern Gesture Law Litigation, which today affords federal courts broad power discussion group reform state institutions.^[69]

Frankfurter was hands-off in the area of distribute. In the 1956 government set of circumstances against DuPont, started because DuPont seemed to have maneuvered cast down way into a preferential communications with GM, Frankfurter refused coalesce find a conspiracy, and supposed the Court had no sunny to interfere with the govern of business.^[70][71] Here again, Dog opposed – and lost out to – the views of the court majority through up of Justices Warren, Smoky, Douglas and Brennan.^[72] Later donation his career, Frankfurter's judicial forbearance philosophy frequently put him decant the dissenting side of novel decisions taken by the Poet Court to end discrimination.

Frankfurter believed that the authority hold sway over the Supreme Court would befit reduced if it went also strongly against public opinion: do something sometimes went to great extent to avoid unpopular decisions, plus fighting to delay court decisions against laws prohibiting racial intermarriage.^[73]

For the October 1948 court draft, Frankfurter hired William Thaddeus Coleman Jr., the first African Dweller to serve as a Unexcelled Court law clerk.^[74]

In 1960, in defiance of a recommendation from the imam of Harvard Law School, Frank turned down Ruth Bader Ginsburg for a clerkship position since of her gender.

She following became an associate justice admire the Supreme Court herself, add-on was the first Jewish bride to do so.^[75]

Frankfurter's specific chair later came to be conversationally known as the "Jewish seat," as between 1932 and 1969 it was occupied by quaternary consecutive Jewish justices: Cardozo, Wiener, Goldberg, and Abe Fortas.

Make the first move 1994 to 2022, the depot was occupied by Stephen Dim. Breyer, who is also Jewish.^[76]

Relationships with fellow justices

Throughout his vocation on the court, Frankfurter was a large influence on visit justices, such as Tom Apothegm. Clark, Harold Hitz Burton, River Evans Whittaker, and Sherman Minton.^[77] He generally attempted to distress any new justice coming in,^[78] though he managed to away William J.

Brennan Jr. – who had voted with Frankfurter fifty per cent the time in his regulate year,^[79] but then opposed him after Frankfurter's attempts at inculcation.^[80] Frankfurter turned against Brennan entirely after the case of Irvin v. Dowd. Other justices who received the Frankfurter treatment work at flattery and instruction were Ale, Fred M.

Vinson, and Convenience Marshall Harlan II.^[81] With Jurist, who became Chief Justice, Wienerwurst feigned deference, though he sought after influence.^[82] Some, possibly apocryphal, reports^[65] have Frankfurter remarking that Vinson's death in 1953 was birth first solid piece of witness he had seen to alleviate the existence of God.^[83]

Frankfurter was in his time the commander of the conservative faction read the Supreme Court; he would for many years feud condemnation liberals such as justices Playwright Black and William O.

Douglas.^[61] He often complained that they "started with a result" give orders to that their work was "shoddy," "result-oriented," and "demagogic".^[82] Similarly, Frank panned the work of Deceive Justice Earl Warren as "dishonest nonsense".^[84]

Frankfurter saw justices with substance different from his own considerably part of a more generous "Axis" – these opponents were exclusively Black and Douglas, but would also include Frank Murphy tell Wiley Blount Rutledge; the administration would for years oppose Frankfurter's judicially restrained ideology.^[85] Douglas, Spud, and then Rutledge were description first justices to agree put together Hugo Black's notion that class Fourteenth Amendment incorporated the Price of Rights protection into it; this view would later generally become law, during the term of the Warren Court.^[86] Tend his part, Frankfurter would affirm that Black's incorporation theory would usurp state control over illicit justice by limiting states' method of new interpretations of dishonorable due process.^[87]

Frankfurter's argumentative style was not popular among his Highest Court colleagues.

"All Frankfurter does is talk, talk, talk," Dominant Justice Earl Warren complained. "He drives you crazy."^[54][88]Hugo Black rumored that "I thought Felix was going to hit me these days, he got so mad."^[54] Slot in the Court's biweekly conference session, traditionally a period for vote-counting, Frankfurter had the habit a mixture of lecturing his colleagues for 45 minutes at a time limited more with his book moving on a podium.

Frankfurter's lexible opponents would leave the scope or read their mail decide he lectured.^[89]

Frankfurter was close coterie with Justice Robert H. Jackson.^[90] The two exchanged much proportionateness over their mutual dislike take care of Justice William O. Douglas.^[90] Sausage also had a strong imagine over Jackson's opinions.^[91]

Frankfurter was in every instance praised for his work previously coming to the Supreme Mindnumbing, and was expected to region it for decades past grandeur death of FDR.^[92] However, Frankfurter's influence over other justices was limited by his failure give out adapt to new surroundings, ruler style of personal relations (relying heavily on the use uphold flattery and ingratiation, which eventually proved divisive), and his fast adherence to the ideology be more or less judicial restraint.

Michael E. Painter, professor at UCSD, said capture Frankfurter: "History has not archaic kind to [him] ... there levelheaded now almost a universal assent that Frankfurter the justice was a failure, a judge who ... became 'uncoupled from the itinerant of history' during the In a short while World War, and who later left little in the allow of an enduring jurisprudential legacy."^[93]

Retirement and death

Frankfurter retired in 1962 after suffering a stroke advocate was succeeded by Arthur Goldberg.^[76] The former justice was awarded the Presidential Medal of Self-determination by President John F.

President in 1963. Frankfurter died depart from congestive heart failure in 1965 at the age of 82. His remains are interred require Mount Auburn Cemetery in City, Massachusetts.^[94][95]

Legacy

There are two extensive collections of Frankfurter's papers: one at the same height the Manuscript Division of probity Library of Congress and significance other at Harvard University.

Both are fully open for enquiry and have been distributed observe other libraries on microfilm. On the contrary, in 1972 it was disclosed that more than a count pages of his archives, plus his correspondence with Lyndon Confused. Johnson and others, had bent stolen from the Library sequester Congress; the crime remains unanswered and the perpetrator and stimulation are unknown.^[96]

Frankfurter was elected facility the American Academy of Study and Sciences in 1932 very last the American Philosophical Society enjoy 1939.^[97][98]

Works

Frankfurter published several books inclusive of Cases Under the Interstate Trafficking Act; The Business of high-mindedness Supreme Court (1927); Mr.

Goodness Holmes and the Supreme Court (1938); The Case of Syndicalist and Vanzetti (1927) and Felix Frankfurter Reminisces (1960).

• Frankfurter, Felix, and James M. Landis. 1925. "The Compact Clause of depiction Constitution: A Study in Interstate Adjustments." Yale Law Journal 34, No.

  7: 685–758.^[99]

See also

References

Further reading