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Judge John Woolsey's decision in the Ulysses case marked a notable change in the policies of the courts and legislative bodies of the United States toward obscenity. Before this decision, it was universally agreed that a) laws prohibiting obscenity were not in conflict with the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and b) the U.S. Post Office and the U.S. Customs Service held the power to deter…
Cerf engaged Morris L. Ernst, America's leading lawyer in obscenity cases. Ernst's fee, contingent upon winning the case, was a five percent royalty on the first 10,000 published copies, then two percent for life on all subsequent printings. Ernst and his associate, Alexander Lindey, carefully planned their strategy. Early in 1932, they had a copy of the book mailed across the sea, expecting custo…
On December 6, Judge Woolsey delivered his opinion on United States v. One Book Called Ulysses:I hold that Ulysses is a sincere and honest book, and I think that the criticisms of it are entirely disposed by its rationale . . . The words which are criticized as dirty are old Saxon words known to almost all men, and, I venture, to many women, and are such words as would be naturally and habitually …
James Joyce's Ulysses, is far more than an obscenity case. The tale of a single day in the life of Dublin, Ireland, it is modelled after Homer's Odyssey; only in Joyce's version, Odysseus or Ulysses is reborn as Leopold Bloom, a mild-mannered Jewish advertising salesman whose wife regularly cheats on him with younger men. It was chiefly the parts involving Molly, Leopold's wife--passages involving…
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User Comments
about 4 years ago
I live in Petersham, MA where Judge Woolsey is revered and where his descendents, or at least some of them, live. Did you know that John M Woolsey Jr. was part of the American delegation to Nuremberg. I had the distinct honor of working with John on a project. He died several years ago. His widow, his children and grandchildren continue Judge Woolsey's example of public service.