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Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15, 91 S.Ct. 1780, 29 L.Ed.2d 284

Facts

On April 26, 1968, Paul Robert Cohen was observed in the Los Angeles County Courthouse wearing a jacket with the words 'Fuck the Draft' visible. There were women and children present in the corridor at the time. Cohen wore the jacket to express his opposition to the Vietnam War and the draft. He did not engage in any violent behavior or make loud noises, and there was no evidence that anyone reacted violently to his display.

On April 26, 1968, the defendant was observed in the Los Angeles County Courthouse in the corridor outside of division 20 of the municipal court wearing a jacket bearing the words ‘Fuck the Draft’ which were plainly visible. There were women and children present in the corridor. The defendant was arrested. The defendant testified that he wore the jacket knowing that the words were on the jacket as a means of informing the public of the depth of his feelings against the Vietnam War and the draft.

Issue

Whether the state of California could constitutionally convict Cohen for disturbing the peace based on the display of a four-letter expletive on his jacket.

The question of our jurisdiction need not detain us long. Throughout the proceedings below, Cohen consistently claimed that, as construed to apply to the facts of this case, the statute infringed his rights to freedom of expression guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the Federal Constitution.

Rule

The state may not, consistently with the First and Fourteenth Amendments, make the simple public display of a single four-letter expletive a criminal offense without a more particularized and compelling reason.

Absent a more particularized and compelling reason for its actions, the State may not, consistently with the First and Fourteenth Amendments, make the simple public display of this single four-letter expletive a criminal offense.

Analysis

The Supreme Court analyzed the case by emphasizing that Cohen's conviction was based solely on his exercise of free speech. The Court noted that the state failed to provide sufficient justification for punishing Cohen's expression, as there was no evidence that his conduct incited violence or disrupted the peace. The Court highlighted that the statute under which Cohen was convicted did not adequately inform individuals that certain types of speech would be prohibited in specific locations.

This Court has also held that the States are free to ban the simple use, without a demonstration of additional justifying circumstances, of so-called ‘fighting words,’ those personally abusive epithets which, when addressed to the ordinary citizen, are, as a matter of common knowledge, inherently likely to provoke violent reaction.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court reversed Cohen's conviction, ruling that the state could not criminalize the public display of the expletive without a compelling justification. The Court emphasized the importance of protecting freedom of expression, even when the speech is distasteful.

Reversed.

Who won?

Paul Robert Cohen prevailed in the case because the Supreme Court found that his conviction violated his constitutional rights to free speech.

The rationale of the California court is plainly untenable. At most it reflects an ‘undifferentiated fear or apprehension of disturbance (which) is not enough to overcome the right to freedom of expression.’

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