Felix Frankfurter lived from 1882 to 1965, an Austrian-born jurist who emigrated to the United States as a child and rose to become a professor at Harvard Law School before his appointment as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, where he served from 1939 to 1962. A co-founder of the American Civil Liberties Union earlier in his career, he became on the bench a prominent advocate of judicial restraint, arguing that courts should defer heavily to the elected branches, a position that placed him frequently at odds with more activist colleagues.
Facts
RoleAssociate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States 2 Nationality / JurisdictionUnited States (Austrian-born) 2 BirthplaceVienna, Austria-Hungary 3 Place of Death Classification
Field of Law Role
Role (category) FAQs
What did judicial restraint mean in practice for Justice Felix Frankfurter?
He believed judges should follow precedent and ask only whether legislators could reasonably have enacted a law.
Felix Frankfurter served on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 to 1962 and was in his time the Court's leading exponent of the doctrine of judicial self-restraint. He held that judges should adhere closely to precedent and set aside their own opinions. In reviewing a law, he thought the question for a court was only whether legislators could in reason have enacted it, not whether the court agreed with the policy. This outlook followed from his earlier career as a scholar and teacher of law, and it is why he is remembered as a defender of deference to elected lawmakers, even though he had helped to found the American Civil Liberties Union in 1920.
Connections
In Legal System
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
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Source Felix Frankfurter (Wikipedia)
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Nationality
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Sources
1. Felix Frankfurter (Wikipedia)
WikipediaFull article, field of lawQuote, Full article, field of law
He taught mainly administrative law and occasionally criminal law.
2. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.https://www.britannica.com/biography/Felix-Frankfurter
Felix Frankfurter served as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1939 to 1962. He was a proponent of judicial self-restraint, believing judges should adhere to precedents and prioritize the intent of legislators.
- In Legal System: Law of the United States
View the Source 3. Felix Frankfurter (Wikipedia)
WikipediaEarly life and education section, first sentence
Frankfurter was born into an Ashkenazi Jewish family on November 15, 1882, in Vienna (then part of Austria-Hungary).
Introduction
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.
- Member Of: United States Supreme Court, lead states served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1939 until 1962
View the Source 4. Wikidata: Felix Frankfurter
Wikidata Q1403472, P20 place of death claimQuote, Wikidata Q1403472, P20 place of death claim
P20 (place of death): Washington, D.C.
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