Today is Friday August 7th, 2020.

On this day in 1934, after months of deliberation, the U.S US Court of Appeals affirmed a ruling to remove the federal

ban on James Joyce's novel Ulysses, despite its scene depicting masturbation.

Welcome to today in True Crime, a parcast original.

Today we're covering one of the most Welcome to Today in True Crime, a parcast original.

Today we're covering one of the most famous legal rulings

in literary history.

The American Federal Court's decision

to strike down its 12-year ban on James Joyce's celebrated yet controversial novel, Ulysses.

Now let's go back to the day the verdict was released, Augustth, 1934.

Morris Ernst sat staring down at his newspaper, delighted.

He'd done it. He'd won the case.

Ulysses would be printed and distributed to audiences all around America, masturbation scene or no.

He hadn't been at all sure of this outcome, despite his experience arguing against censorship

in the courts.

Ernst had fought so many censorship battles that he'd become something of a champion of the arts, but he'd never defended a case like this one.

Ulysses had made a stir in America long before he took the job.

In fact, the book was controversial years before it was even completed.

Its author, Irishman James Joyce,

had published portions of the epic novel

in a magazine called The Little Review,

as he wrote.

...