I am fortunate to be able to count among my relatives a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Felix Frankfurter. Felix, appointed to the court by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was a cousin on my mother's side of the family and, needless to say, far removed from me in age.

Cousin Felix was renowned for many landmark decisions, but few people today may know his role in determining whether a particular book, picture or photograph was obscene or not. Anything "that gave Felix an erection," in short, was deemed pornographic.

Now during his early years on the court, when he was still a relatively young man, even the most vaguely racy turn of phrase or image could get a rise out of him. But as time passed, an aging Cousin Felix would stare for long moments at a photo and say, "No, this one is fine by me."