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Democratic Justice: Felix Frankfurter, the Supreme Court, and the Making of the Liberal Establishment
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About This Book
The definitive biography of Felix Frankfurter, Supreme Court justice and champion of twentieth-century American liberal democracy. Scholars have portrayed Felix Frankfurter—Harvard law professor and Supreme Court justice—as a judicial failure, a liberal lawyer turned conservative justice, and Warren Court villain. Yet as Brad Snyder reveals, Frankfurter was a pro-government, pro–civil rights liberal. He helped found the ACLU, rejected shifting political labels, and practiced judicial restraint. A disciple of Oliver Wendell Holmes and a protégé of Louis Brandeis, he thrived as a power broker for FDR and as a talent scout for the liberal establishment. (Former students and clerks included Dean Acheson, Elliot Richardson, and Richard Goodwin.) This sweeping narrative illuminates how an Austrian immigrant befriended presidents from Theodore Roosevelt to Lyndon Johnson, led calls for a new trial for Sacco and Vanzetti, and helped achieve a unanimous opinion in Brown v. Board of Education. The result is a full and fascinating portrait of a lawyer and Supreme Court justice who championed democracy.
Reviews
"Brad Snyder's new book, Democratic Justice: Felix Frankfurter, the Supreme Court, and the Making of the Liberal Establishment, is the first work to grapple with his life and legacy in full."
"Snyder's biography ably articulates them."
"Specialists will be especially interested in reading about Frankfurter's years on the Court and his relationships with other justices ..."
"Snyder does, however, cast him in a flattering light, depicting the justice largely as he depicted himself—as a champion of democracy, and therefore an opponent of juristocracy."
"The book's accounts of Frankfurter's personal experiences with antisemitism during the war are memorable."
"The book's prodigious research impresses, offering valuable insights into the deliberations and power plays behind landmark cases and major legislation."
"A well-worth-the-effort doorstop study of an indispensable American jurist ..."
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