• 1971 – The United States Supreme Court overturns the conviction of Paul Cohen for disturbing the peace, setting the precedent that vulgar writing is protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Happy Fuck The Draft Day!

On this day in 1971, the Supreme Court ruled that wearing a jacket that bears the words "Fuck the Draft" was protected.

Cohen v. California (1971)

Written by David L. Hudson Jr., published on January 1, 2009 , last updated on June 7, 2024



Young people were protesting against the draft and the Vietnam War in the late 1960s and into the 1970s. It was in this environment that Paul Robert Cohen wore a jacket bearing the words "Fuck the Draft" into a Los Angeles courthouse and was charged with violating the state's breach-of-the-peace law. The Supreme Court reversed his conviction. (In this October 1967 AP photo, more than 5,000 anti-draft demonstrators jam a plaza at University of California at Berkeley, listening to speeches and watching draft card burnings. Reprinted with permission from The Associated Press.)

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.

The controversy in this case began in April 1968, when Paul Robert Cohen wore a jacket bearing the words “Fuck the Draft” into a Los Angeles courthouse.

He was arrested and charged with violating a state breach-of-the-peace law prohibiting disturbing of the peace by “offensive conduct.”

A Los Angeles court convicted Cohen and sentenced him to 30 days in jail. A California court of appeals affirmed his conviction, finding that it was “certainly reasonably foreseeable” that his conduct in wearing his jacket could cause a violent reaction. The Supreme Court of California declined to review the case by a 4-3 vote. Cohen appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which reversed his conviction in a 5-4 vote.

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