Felix Frankfurter

Uncommon card · No. 137193

Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1939 until 1962, advocating judicial restraint. Born in Vienna, Frankfurter immigrated with his family to New York City at age 12. He graduated from Harvard Law School and worked for Henry L. Stimson, the U.S. Secretary of War. Frankfurter served as Judge Advocate General during World War I. Afterward, he returned to Harvard and helped found the American Civil Liberties Union. He later became a friend and adviser of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. After Benjamin N. Cardozo died in 1938, Roosevelt nominated Frankfurter to the Supreme Court. Given his affiliations and alleged radicalism, the Senate confirmed Frankfurter's appointment only after its Judiciary Committee required him to testify in 1939, a practice that became routine in the 1950s. His relations with colleagues were strained by ideological and personal differences, likely exacerbated...

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