March 22, 2005

UCSB Arts & Lectures presents a lecture by Floyd Abrams,
one of the foremost First Amendment lawyers in the U.S.,
at the Victoria Hall Theater

Summary Facts:

• Floyd Abrams
• Speaking Freely—Trials of the First Amendment
• Abrams is noted as one of the foremost First Amendment lawyers in the country
• Sunday, May 22
• 3 pm / Victoria Hall Theater, 33 W. Victoria Street
• General: $10 / UCSB students: $8
• Tickets/information: UCSB Arts & Lectures at 893-3535

Floyd Abrams, the attorney on the front lines of America’s fight for uncensored expression for more than thirty years, will present the lecture Speaking Freely—Trials of the First Amendment on Sunday, May 22 at 3 pm at the Victoria Hall Theater, 33 W. Victoria Street, Santa Barbara. This event was originally scheduled for April 24. In his talk, based on his book of the same name published by Viking Books on April 7, 2005, Abrams will convey the dramatic immediacy of the trials and appeals in which First Amendment law has been created—and address the continuing importance of upholding America’s constitutional right to free speech. Nat Hentoff, Village Voice columnist and author of Living the Bill of Rights, writes about the book, “No one has been more vital in protecting the First Amendment—the core of our Constitutional democracy—than Floyd Abrams. Speaking Freely vividly recounts not only some of his victories, but also ours.”

In the book Speaking Freely, Floyd Abrams re-creates eight of the most important cases of his career—landmark trials and Supreme Court arguments in cases involving key First Amendment protections, including the famous Pentagon Papers case. With adversaries as diverse as Richard Nixon, Wayne Newton and Rudy Giuliani, and allies as unlikely as Kenneth Starr and Senator Mitch McConnell, Abrams takes readers behind the scenes to examine his strategies, the ramifications of each of the decisions, and the long-term significance of each case, while presenting a clear and compelling look at the law in action. Geoffrey R. Stone, author of Perilous Times: Free Speech in Wartime, asserts, “Abrams offers us a privileged peek into the inner workings of constitutional law. In a clear, direct, and open style, he provides citizens with a rare opportunity to understand how our most fundamental rights and liberties are questioned, defended and defined. From the Pentagon Papers to campaign finance reform, Abrams traces the evolution of the First Amendment and introduces us to the editors, the lawyers, the senators, and the justices who have threatened and preserved the cherished American right of speaking freely.”

Abrams has represented The New York Times, ABC, NBC, CBS, Time magazine, Business Week, The Nation, Reader’s Digest and other clients in trials and appeals. He represented CNN in 1998 when it broadcast a report accusing the United States of using nerve gas on a military mission in Laos in 1970 and in 1999 when it sought to persuade the United States Senate to permit the public to view its deliberations determining whether to convict President Clinton of alleged high crimes and misdemeanors. He represented Nina Totenberg and National Public Radio in the 1992 “leak” investigation conducted by the United States Senate arising out of the confirmation hearing of Justice Clarence Thomas. He has recently represented Judith Miller and Matthew Cooper in the Valerie Plame leak case.

Floyd Abrams was awarded the 2004 Anvil of Freedom Award, presented by the University of Denver’s prestigious Estlow International Center for Journalism and New Media, for his unwavering commitment to defending the First Amendment. Currently, Abrams is a partner in the New York law firm of Cahill Gordon & Reindel. Additionally, he is the William J. Brennan, Jr. Visiting Professor of First Amendment Law at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.

Abrams graduated from Cornell University in 1956 and the Yale Law School in 1960. He was a Visiting Lecturer at the Yale Law School from 1974 to 1980 and 1986-1989 and at the Columbia Law School from 1981 to 1985.

Courtesy of Borders Books, works by Floyd Abrams will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

Floyd Abrams is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures. Tickets are $10 for the general public and $8 for UCSB students and are on sale now and at the door, if still available.

For tickets or more information,
call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535.

Editor: For photos, please call
George Yatchisin at (805) 893-3494.