Felix Frankfurter
American judge
Died when: 82 years 99 days (987 months)Star Sign: Scorpio
Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an Austrian-American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 until 1962, during which period he was a noted advocate of judicial restraint in its judgements.
Frankfurter was born in Vienna, immigrating to New York City at the age of 12.After graduating from Harvard Law School, Frankfurter worked for Henry L.
Stimson, the U.S.Secretary of War.During World War I, Frankfurter served as Judge Advocate General.After the war, he helped found the American Civil Liberties Union and returned to his position as a professor at Harvard Law School.
He became a friend and adviser of President Franklin D.Roosevelt, who appointed him to fill the Supreme Court vacancy caused by the death of Benjamin N.
Cardozo.Although Frankfurter's personal political views were strongly liberal, his experience with the Supreme Court's Lochner era in which conservative justices struck down economic regulations, led him to oppose judicial intervention and his jurisprudence was generally conservative.
Frankfurter served on the Court until his retirement in 1962, and was succeeded by Arthur Goldberg.Frankfurter wrote the Court's majority opinions in cases such as Minersville School District v.
Gobitis, Gomillion v.Lightfoot, and Beauharnais v.Illinois.He wrote dissenting opinions in notable cases such as Baker v.Carr, West Virginia State Board of Education v.
Barnette, Glasser v.United States, and Trop v.Dulles.
