Frank David Padgett (March 9, 1923 – July 11, 2021) was an American judge and World War II B-24 bomber pilot.

After the war, Padgett spent many months in military hospitals recovering from malaria, beriberi and amoebic dysentery, which he had contracted while a prisoner.

When the case went to trial in 1950, federal judge J. Frank McLaughlin ruled against the government and the land was released back to the members of the Kotohira Jinsha community.

In his ruling, Judge McLaughlin found the Attorney General's office in violation of the First Amendment rights of plaintiffs with reference to Robert H. Jackson in "American Communications Association v. Douds".

McLaughlin found the Attorney General's office had no evidence to use the Trading with the Enemy Act, moreover, since 1945 Japan had abolished state religion under Douglas MacArthur and by judicial order returned seized property to Kotohira Jinsha.