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California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971), was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court holding that the First Amendment prevented the conviction of Paul Robert Cohen for the crime of disturbing the peace by wearing a jacket displaying "Fuck the Draft" in the public corridors of a California courthouse.
STOP THE WAR" The young man, Paul Cohen, was charged under a California statute that prohibits "maliciously and willfully disturb [ing] the peace and quiet of any neighborhood or person [by] offensive conduct." Cohen was found guilty and sentenced to 30 days in jail.
Cohen v. California: States must have a better reason than a concern for generally disturbing the peace when they ban displaying an expletive in a public space.
Jan 1, 2009 · In Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971), the Supreme Court established that the government generally cannot criminalize the display of profane words in public places. Cohen charged with beaching peace for wearing profane jacket
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned a man’s conviction of “disturbing the peace..by…offensive conduct.”. Paul Robert Cohen was arrested under the California Penal Code § 415 for “disturbing the peace” after wearing a jacket that said “Fuck the Draft” in a municipal courthouse in California. The Court found that this conviction ...
Brief Fact Summary. The Defendant, Cohen’s (Defendant) conviction, for violating a California law by wearing a jacket that had “f— the draft” on it was reversed by the Supreme Court of the United States (Supreme Court) which held such speech was protected.
Date of Decision: June 7, 1971. Decision: The Supreme Court overturned Cohen's conviction for disturbing the peace because it violated the First Amendment. Significance: Cohen says the First Amendment protects profanity and other offensive language that is not obscene and does not provoke violence.
