Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971)

Cohen is read by Robert Corn-Revere, First Amendment media lawyer and partner at Davis Wright Tremaine.

Legal Question: Whether arresting someone for wearing a jacket that says "Fuck the Draft" under a California statute which prohibits "offensive conduct" violated the First Amendment. Action: The application of the statute to Cohen's expression was ruled to be unconstitutional because it did not meet the standard for fighting words or obscenity. The Court also rejected the state's reasoning that they needed to protect unwilling viewers from Cohen's display, noting that viewers "could effectively avoid further bombardment of their sensibilities by averting their eyes." Justice Harlan delivered the opinion of the Court, at 00:41 Justice Blackmun, dissenting, at 24:03 This opinion's citations have been edited down for ease of listening. For more information, visit our explanation. For more on Cohen v. California, visit FIRE's First Amendment Library. For more episodes, visit thefire.org/outloud.

Chapters:00:41 MR. JUSTICE HARLAN delivered the opinion of the Court.05:55 I. In order to lay hands ...15:17 II. Against this background, the issue ...24:03 MR. JUSTICE BLACKMUN dissenting.