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Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971)
Cohen v. California No. 299 Argued February 22, 1971 Decided June 7, 1971 403 U.S. 15
APPEAL FROM THE COURT OF APPEAL OF CALIFORNIA,
SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT
Syllabus
Appellant was convicted of violating that part of Cal.Penal Code § 415 which prohibits "maliciously and willfully disturb[ing] the peace or quiet of any neighborhood or person . . . by . . . offensive conduct," for wearing a jacket bearing the words "Fuck the Draft" in a corridor of the Los Angeles Courthouse. The Court of Appeal held that "offensive conduct" means "behavior which has a tendency to provoke others to acts of violence or to in turn disturb the peace," and affirmed the conviction.
Held: 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. Pp. 22-26.
1 Cal.App.3d 94, 81 Cal.Rptr. 503, reversed.
HARLAN, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which DOUGLAS, BRENNAN, STEWART, and MARSHALL, JJ., joined. BLACKMUN, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which BURGER, C.J., and BLACK, J., joined, and in which WHITE, J., joined in part, post, p. 27.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971) in 403 U.S. 15 Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=WT9P4N8YYGM3XY6.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971), in 403 U.S. 15, Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=WT9P4N8YYGM3XY6.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971). cited in 1971, 403 U.S. 15. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=WT9P4N8YYGM3XY6.
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