Edward de Grazia facts for kids

Edward Richard de Grazia (February 5, 1927 – April 11, 2013) was an American lawyer, writer, and a champion of free speech. He worked hard to protect people's right to express themselves, especially in books and art.

Edward de Grazia was born in Chicago. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. After the war, he returned to the United States. He studied at the University of Chicago, earning his first degree in 1948. He then got his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School in 1951.

He started his law career in Washington, D.C. Later, from 1956 to 1959, he worked for UNESCO in Paris. UNESCO is an organization that promotes peace and understanding through education, science, and culture. After teaching law in Washington, D.C., he became a founding teacher at the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law in 1976. He taught there for 30 years.

De Grazia was married three times. His wives were Ellen O'Connor, Liz Goode, and Lora Price. He had several children: Augustus, David, Christophe, Belinda, and Elizabeth.

Protecting Free Speech

Edward de Grazia was involved in many important legal cases. These cases were about protecting books and art from being censored. Censorship is when someone tries to stop people from seeing or reading certain things.

In the 1960s, he helped publishers like Barney Rosset. Rosset published books by authors such as Henry Miller and William S. Burroughs. De Grazia defended their right to publish these works. He also worked to protect the speech rights of people protesting against war. This work was even written about in a famous book called Armies of the Night by Norman Mailer.

In 1991, de Grazia wrote his own important book. It was called Girls Lean Back Everywhere: The Law of Obscenity and the Assault on Genius. This book tells the long story of how people fought against censorship in literature. It shows how important it is to protect artistic freedom.

Important Legal Cases

Edward de Grazia worked on several key cases. These cases helped define what free speech means in the United States. He often defended works that others tried to ban.

• 1955: He fought against the Postal Service trying to censor the play Lysistrata.
• 1964: He was part of the case Grove Press v. Gerstein. This case was about the book Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller. It was decided along with another big case, Jacobellis v. Ohio.
• 1965: He defended the book Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs from censorship.
• 1967: He worked on a case to protect the film I Am Curious (Yellow) from being censored.
• He also defended the comedian Lenny Bruce. Bruce was known for his controversial stand-up comedy.