[Autographs & Manuscripts] Frankfurter, Felix, Typed

[Autographs & Manuscripts] Frankfurter, Felix
Typed Letter, signed
Washington D.C., November 22, 1950. 1 p. T.L.s. by Supreme Court justice Felix Frankfurter, on Supreme Court of the United States letterhead, to Attorney Lloyd Paul Stryker, in which Frankfurter comments on Stryker’s involvement and success in the first perjury trial of Alger Hiss. Approximately 7 1/4 x 9 1/4 in. (18.4 x 23.4 cm). Light creasing from old folds, a few faint spots. Window mounted and framed. Supreme Court justice Felix Frankfurter (1882-1965) was one of several notable character witnesses at the first trial of his former protégé who was tried twice for perjury between 1948-50. In his letter, Frankfurter notes, "Time has not lessened my naive surprise that denial should seriously be contemplated of the duty to give relevant testimony where a man’s fate is at stake, simply because the witness happens to be a judge.” He goes on, “But you have every right to feel that you lived up to the best traditions of our profession by your share in the Hiss case…”
Alger Hiss (1904-96) was an American government official who was accused in 1948 of spying for the Soviet Union. As statutes of limitations for espionage had expired by the time of the accusations—the “crimes” had been committed in the 1930s—he was tried instead for perjury, first in 1949, which ended in a hung jury, then again, in 1950, which ended in his conviction.