Background of The Case
On April 26, 1968, 19-year old Paul Robert Cohen was arrested for wearing a jacket bearing the words "Fuck the Draft" inside the Los Angeles Courthouse in the corridor outside the division 20 of the municipal court. He was convicted of violating section 415 of the California Penal Code, which prohibited "maliciously and willfully disturb the peace or quiet of any neighborhood or person offensive conduct,"and sentenced to 30 days in jail.
The conviction was upheld by the California Court of Appeal, which held that "offensive conduct" means "behavior which has a tendency to provoke others to acts of violence or to in turn disturb the peace." After the California Supreme Court denied review, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a certiorari. The case was argued by Melville Nimmer, representing Paul Robert Cohen, and Michael T. Sauer, representing California.
Read more about this topic: Cohen V. California
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