Knowra Felix Frankfurter Felix Frankfurter Felix Frankfurter was an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1939 to 1962. He emphasized judicial restraint, respect for precedent, and caution about courts displacing elected institutions.
Franklin D. Roosevelt : The 32nd president of the United States, who led the country from 1933 to 1945. Roosevelt appointed Frankfurter to the Supreme Court in 1939.
Judicial restraint : A judicial philosophy favoring limited intervention in decisions made by elected branches. Frankfurter's deference to legislatures made restraint the organizing principle of his judging.
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette : A 1943 Supreme Court case holding that public schools cannot compel students to salute the flag or recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Frankfurter's dissent defended legislative authority, sharply contrasting with the Court's protection of individual conscience.
Vienna : The capital of Austria and a major European cultural and political center. Frankfurter was born there in 1882 before his family emigrated to the United States.
Constitutional law of the United States : The body of law interpreting the United States Constitution and governing the structure and powers of government. Frankfurter's opinions remain part of debates over how courts should interpret constitutional limits.
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. : A U.S. Supreme Court justice from 1902 to 1932, known for legal pragmatism and deference to legislatures. Frankfurter admired Holmes and helped shape his posthumous public reputation.
Judicial review : The power of courts to assess whether government actions comply with a constitution. Frankfurter accepted review but urged courts to exercise it with institutional caution.
Minersville School District v. Gobitis : A 1940 Supreme Court case that upheld a public school's requirement that students salute the flag. Frankfurter wrote the majority opinion, applying deference to a school-board policy later overturned.
Harvard Law School : The law school of Harvard University, founded in 1817 and based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Frankfurter studied and later taught at Harvard, becoming one of its leading legal scholars.
First Amendment to the United States Constitution : The constitutional amendment protecting freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. His flag-salute opinions exposed tensions between deference and protection of individual liberties.
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