Career
Moro-Giafferi was the youngest person ever appointed to the Paris bar at the age of 24. Also active in politics, he was made a Deputy to the French National Assembly from Corsica at the age of 31 in 1919. A Radical deputy from 1919 to 1928, he then took part in the Rally of Left Republicans from 1946 to 1956.
Moro-Giafferi served in the French army in World War I, and was an officer of the Legion of Honor.
He held the Croix de guerre. One of the most famous criminal lawyers of his era, he acquired a reputation that was global in scope.
He was known as a brilliant orator, and his courtrooms were packed with other lawyers, and the general public, who would come to see his skills on display. Nevertheless Moro-Giafferi is best known for a case that never actually went to trial.
The assassination had geo-political consequences as the Nazis used the incident to initiate an act of state terrorism against the Jews in Germany in the events of Kristallnacht.
Moro-Giafferi was preparing his defense when the Germans invaded France. During the preparation of Grynzspan"s defense, Moro-Giafferi is said to have received many threats. The American journalist Dorothy Thompson helped arrange the defense fund for Grynszpan.