--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What becomes decisive to a Justice's…" description: "\"What becomes decisive to a Justice's functioning on the Court in the large area within which his individuality moves is his general attitude toward law..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c88/felix-frankfurter-7424_areas_what-becomes-decisive-to-a-justice-s-fun_154462.jpg" --- # What becomes decisive to a Justice's functioning on the… ![“What becomes decisive to a Justice's functioning on the Court in the large area within which his individuality moves is his general attitude toward law, the habits of the mind that he has formed or is capable of unforming, his capacity for detachment, his temperament or training for putting his…” quote by Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c88/felix-frankfurter-7424_areas_what-becomes-decisive-to-a-justice-s-fun_154462.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c88/felix-frankfurter-7424_areas_what-becomes-decisive-to-a-justice-s-fun_154462.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c88/felix-frankfurter-7424_areas_what-becomes-decisive-to-a-justice-s-fun_154462.jpg) > “What becomes decisive to a Justice's functioning on the Court in the large area within which his individuality moves is his general attitude toward law, the habits of the mind that he has formed or is capable of unforming, his capacity for detachment, his temperament or training for putting his passion behind his judgment instead of in front of it. The attitudes and qualities which I am groping to characterize are ingredients of what compendiously might be called dominating humility.” [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A judge’s effectiveness depends on humility, detachment, and the ability to set aside personal bias in favor of law. **In simple terms:** Judges need humility and detachment to judge fairly. Key Takeaway Cultivate humility and objectivity in decision‑making. Themes judicial philosophy humility detachment law ethics Mood thoughtful serious inquisitive Type philosophical educational reflective When to use this quote - court deliberations - law school curricula - judicial appointments - ethical training Key Concepts dominant humility judicial temperament legal reasoning Questions to Reflect On - Can true detachment ever be achieved? - How does personal background shape legal interpretation? A Different Perspective Even humble judges may be swayed by personal experiences or political pressure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Court](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/court/) [Detachment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detachment/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Humility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humility/) [Individuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuality/) [Judgment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgment/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Temperament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temperament/) [Training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/training/) ## Related quotes > [I'm going to be specific so you can render your verdict. Let's go to North Africa, she was the chief engineer of the disastrous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-christie/i-m-going-to-be-specific-so-you-can-render-your-verdict-let-s-go-to/) [Chris Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-christie/) > [I've always been a guy that has strived for dominating, not only winning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-jones/i-ve-always-been-a-guy-that-has-strived-for-dominating-not-only/) [Jon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-jones/) > [Giving birth and nourishing, Bearing yet not possessing, Working yet not taking credit, Leading yet not dominating, This is the Primal Virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/giving-birth-and-nourishing-bearing-yet-not-possessing-working-yet/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Women are strong now. Women are dominating the charts, and women are doing it for themselves. We're kicking butt and taking no prisoners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-labelle/women-are-strong-now-women-are-dominating-the-charts-and-women-are/) [Patti LaBelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-labelle/) > [The really creative person is not interested in dominating anybody. He is so utterly rejoicing in life - he wants to create, he wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-really-creative-person-is-not-interested-in-dominating-anybody-he/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Wrestling has always been a dominating force in UFC.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tito-ortiz/wrestling-has-always-been-a-dominating-force-in-ufc/) [Tito Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tito-ortiz/) > [Totalitarianism is never content to rule by external means, namely, through the state and a machinery of violence; thanks to its peculiar ideology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/totalitarianism-is-never-content-to-rule-by-external-means-namely/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [RELIGION: A set of beliefs held as dogmas, dominating the conduct of life, going beyond or contrary to evidence, and inculcated by methods which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/religion-a-set-of-beliefs-held-as-dogmas-dominating-the-conduct-of/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [If George W. Bush really has the courage of his convictions the United States very soon will either wind up dominating the United Nations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyn-nofziger/if-george-w-bush-really-has-the-courage-of-his-convictions-the-united/) [Lyn Nofziger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyn-nofziger/) > [Positive and negative emotions cannot occupy the mind at the same time. One or the other must dominate. It is your responsibility to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/positive-and-negative-emotions-cannot-occupy-the-mind-at-the-same/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [If competitors don't like our two to one advantage, dominating market share with both SP and DS, well, I've got bad news. Because we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reggie-fils-aime/if-competitors-don-t-like-our-two-to-one-advantage-dominating-market/) [Reggie Fils-Aime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reggie-fils-aime/) > [When leaders of a professional team perform a scan, they examine the trends dominating their customer demographics, education, government policy, and especially their competition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-yaeger/when-leaders-of-a-professional-team-perform-a-scan-they-examine-the/) [Don Yaeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-yaeger/) > [Are soft-hearted people handicapped in business? You have heard a businessman say of someone else, He's all right, but he's too soft-hearted… To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/are-soft-hearted-people-handicapped-in-business-you-have-heard-a/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [We are ultimately at home in the world not through dominating or explaining or appreciating, but through caring and being cared for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayeroff/we-are-ultimately-at-home-in-the-world-not-through-dominating-or/) [Milton Mayeroff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayeroff/) > [“think so. It seems really sexy being tied up during sex. Is that weird?” “Not at all. Many people, men and women, enjoy giving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/think-so-it-seems-really-sexy-being-tied-up-during-sex-is-that-weird/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Felix Frankfurter > [Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web of arrangements, rooted in history but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/future-lawyers-should-be-more-aware-that-law-is-not-a-system-of/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [It is important not to give the appearance of a predisposed mind. And it is more important not to let the mind become predisposed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/it-is-important-not-to-give-the-appearance-of-a-predisposed-mind-and/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [In the first place, lawyers better remember they are human beings, and a human being who hasn't his periods of doubts and distresses and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/in-the-first-place-lawyers-better-remember-they-are-human-beings-and/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [The State insists that, by thus quarantining the general reading public against books not too rugged for grown men and women in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/the-state-insists-that-by-thus-quarantining-the-general-reading/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [A court which yields to the popular will thereby licenses itself to practice despotism, for there can be no assurance that it will not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/a-court-which-yields-to-the-popular-will-thereby-licenses-itself-to/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [It would be a narrow conception of jurisprudence to confine the notion of 'laws' to what is found written on the statute books, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/it-would-be-a-narrow-conception-of-jurisprudence-to-confine-the/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [We forget that the most successful statesmen have been professionals. Lincoln was a professional politician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/we-forget-that-the-most-successful-statesmen-have-been-professionals/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [Anybody can decide a question if only a single principle is in controversy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/anybody-can-decide-a-question-if-only-a-single-principle-is-in/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [The Procrustean bed is not a symbol of equality. It is no less inequality to have equality among unequals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/the-procrustean-bed-is-not-a-symbol-of-equality-it-is-no-less/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [The mark of a truly civilized man is confidence in the strength and security derived from the inquiring mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/the-mark-of-a-truly-civilized-man-is-confidence-in-the-strength-and/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [We recognize that stare decisis embodies an important social policy that represents an element of continuity in law and is rooted in the psychological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/we-recognize-that-stare-decisis-embodies-an-important-social-policy/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [The eternal struggle in the law between constancy and change is largely a struggle between history and reason, between past reason and present needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/the-eternal-struggle-in-the-law-between-constancy-and-change-is/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [It is easy to make light of insistence on scrupulous regard for the safeguards of civil liberties when invoked on behalf of the unworthy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/it-is-easy-to-make-light-of-insistence-on-scrupulous-regard-for-the/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [I came into the world a Jew, and although I did not live my life entirely as a Jew, I think it is fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/i-came-into-the-world-a-jew-and-although-i-did-not-live-my-life/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [To be effective, judicial administration must not be leaden-footed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/to-be-effective-judicial-administration-must-not-be-leaden-footed/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) [Explore all 91 Felix Frankfurter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) ## More Areas quotes > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [I am somewhat influenced by the years that I've spent trying to actually get things done, whether it was reforming education in Arkansas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-somewhat-influenced-by-the-years-that-i-ve-spent-trying-to/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [The earliest language was body language and, since this language is the language of questions, if we limit the questions, and if we only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/the-earliest-language-was-body-language-and-since-this-language-is/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [This ball was so crowded that it took me - a trained professional journalist with vast experience in this area - forty five minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/this-ball-was-so-crowded-that-it-took-me-a-trained-professional/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [People don't want to believe that technology is broken. Pharmaceuticals, robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology - all these areas where the progress has been a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/people-don-t-want-to-believe-that-technology-is-broken/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [It's absolutely fun to walk around and have people respect you. When Michael Jackson did Thriller, I was in the park one day, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-ross/it-s-absolutely-fun-to-walk-around-and-have-people-respect-you-when/) [Rick Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-ross/) > [Software will get to be somewhat more mature, ah, but it will never be as predictable as most areas of engineering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/software-will-get-to-be-somewhat-more-mature-ah-but-it-will-never-be/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [If I were entering adulthood now instead of in the environment of fifty years ago, I would choose a career that kept me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-i-were-entering-adulthood-now-instead-of-in-the-environment-of/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [The discrepancy between what actually happened and the version of what happened provided by sources is an enormous gray area.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jay-epstein/the-discrepancy-between-what-actually-happened-and-the-version-of/) [Edward Jay Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jay-epstein/) > [Louisville is a place with no labels. It’s not the South, it’s not Chicago, and you don’t think of it as you think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-james/louisville-is-a-place-with-no-labels-it-s-not-the-south-it-s-not/) [Jim James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-james/) > [It turns out that this part of the brain is one of the first areas that's attacked by Alzheimer's disease. So we can now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-keefe/it-turns-out-that-this-part-of-the-brain-is-one-of-the-first-areas/) [John O'Keefe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-keefe/) > [Engaging the city around us and ministering to its needs reveal to us the remaining bastions of sin in our lives, the areas we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-chandler/engaging-the-city-around-us-and-ministering-to-its-needs-reveal-to-us/) [Matt Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-chandler/) > [I believe it is a mistake to isolate arms control from other areas of policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/i-believe-it-is-a-mistake-to-isolate-arms-control-from-other-areas-of/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [Well, the U.N. Security Council resolution 1973 is very clear. It says all necessary measures to be taken to protect civilians and civilian areas.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-jackson/well-the-u-n-security-council-resolution-1973-is-very-clear-it-says/) [Mike Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-jackson/) > [When in one area of the world the standard of living and the size of the middle class increases, it is going to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-lagarde/when-in-one-area-of-the-world-the-standard-of-living-and-the-size-of/) [Christine Lagarde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-lagarde/) Browse all 2,612 Areas quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What becomes decisive to a Justice's functioning on the Court in the large area within which his individuality moves is his general attitude toward law, the habits of the mind that he has formed or is capable of unforming, his capacity for detachment, his temperament or training for putting his passion behind his judgment instead of in front of it. The attitudes and qualities which I am groping to characterize are ingredients of what compendiously might be called dominating humility.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Felix Frankfurter" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/what-becomes-decisive-to-a-justice-s-functioning-on-the-court-in-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Areas" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/what-becomes-decisive-to-a-justice-s-functioning-on-the-court-in-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c88/felix-frankfurter-7424_areas_what-becomes-decisive-to-a-justice-s-fun_154462.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c88/felix-frankfurter-7424_areas_what-becomes-decisive-to-a-justice-s-fun_154462.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c88/felix-frankfurter-7424_areas_what-becomes-decisive-to-a-justice-s-fun_154462.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What becomes decisive to a Justice's functioning on the Court in the large area within which his…” — Felix Frankfurter", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Felix Frankfurter", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What becomes decisive to a Justice's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/what-becomes-decisive-to-a-justice-s-functioning-on-the-court-in-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/what-becomes-decisive-to-a-justice-s-functioning-on-the-court-in-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```