Cohen v California Fuck the Draft worn on

Cohen v. California “Fuck the Draft” worn on D’s jacket in halls of LA County courthouse. Arrested for breach of the peace. Why weren’t these fighting words?

Cohen v. California & the regulation of profanity Cohen makes clear that state cannot act to cleanse discourse by punishing public use of profanity. Why can’t the state act to civilize discourse by regulating the public use profanity even if it isn’t used in situations amounting to fighting words? What are the arguments for and against such regulation of profanity?

Offensive speech and privacy interests/captive audience Cohen refused to allow officials to punish offensive words or speech outside of the fighting words or incitement contexts in order to “civilize” our discourse But Cohen also recognized that sometimes the government can regulate offensive speech. Govt’s ability “to shut off discourse solely to protect others from hearing it is. . . dependent upon a showing that substantial privacy interests are being invaded in an essentially intolerable manner. ” 2 questions Where audiences “captive” – i. e. , when is privacy invaded in an intolerable manner? How does speech invade that privacy interest – based on the manner in which it is delivered, the speech’s content?

Captive Audience scenarios n Can a city ban noisy sound trucks at night in residential neighborhoods based on a captive audience rationale? n Courtroom conduct – basis for contempt? n Profanity used during testimony (p. 572 n. 1) n Profanity after falling in stream with nearby witnesses (p. 572 n. 3) n School Board Meeting in Rosenfeld? n Public University BB game n q At a WVU basketball game against Ohio State, the students (led by a school sponsored organization) were audibly shouting profanity at the opposing team in order to “get into the head” of their star player. This profanity from the student section is a trend at WVU games and is so loud that it can be heard during televised broadcasts of the game. Despite school official’s pleas to tone down the profanity, students continue to use it during games. Could the school enact a policy punishing students using profanity at games, claiming it was justified by the captive audience doctrine?