Frankfurter, Felix J. (1882–1965)

Felix Frankfurter served on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1939 until 1962. Prior to his appointment to the Court, he held positions with the federal government, was a respected professor of law, and was a renowned civil libertarian. In school-related cases, Frankfurter joined in Supreme Court judgments supporting school desegregation and the separation of church and state. However, his philosophy of judicial restraint influenced him to uphold government actions that led to the curtailment of individual rights. Consequently, Frankfurter had critics, including Justices Hugo Black and William O. Douglas, who accused him of abandoning his liberal principles.