Cohen v. California

403 U.S. 15 · Decided June 7, 1971 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Cohen v. California was decided on June 7, 1971 by a vote of 5–4. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice John M. Harlan II wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Protest demonstrations” in the First Amendment area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Cohen v. California

SCDB identifiers: case 1970-121, docket 1970-121-01.

Related decisions

Other cases on “Protest demonstrations”

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  402 U.S. 611Decided June 1, 19715–4Potter Stewart
• Radich v. New York
  401 U.S. 531Decided March 24, 19714–4
• Gooding v. WilsonLaw held unconstitutional
  405 U.S. 518Decided March 23, 19725–2William J. Brennan Jr.
• Colten v. Kentucky
  407 U.S. 104Decided June 12, 19727–2Byron R. White
• Schacht v. United StatesLaw held unconstitutional
  398 U.S. 58Decided May 25, 19708–0Hugo L. Black
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Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)

• Rosenbloom v. Metromedia, Inc.
  403 U.S. 29Decided June 7, 19715–3William J. Brennan Jr.
• Organization for a Better Austin v. Keefe
  402 U.S. 415Decided May 17, 19718–1Warren E. Burger
• New York Times Co. v. United States
  403 U.S. 713Decided June 30, 19716–3Per curiam
• United States v. Reidel
  402 U.S. 351Decided May 3, 19717–2Byron R. White
• United States v. Thirty-Seven (37) Photographs (Luros
  402 U.S. 363Decided May 3, 19716–3Byron R. White
• Monitor Patriot Co. v. Roy
  401 U.S. 265Decided February 24, 19717–2Potter Stewart

Same Term, same area (First Amendment)

• Blount v. RizziLaw held unconstitutional
  400 U.S. 410Decided January 14, 19719–0William J. Brennan Jr.
• Baird v. State Bar of Arizona
  401 U.S. 1Decided February 23, 19715–4Hugo L. Black
• In re Stolar
  401 U.S. 23Decided February 23, 19715–4Hugo L. Black
• Law Students Civil Rights Research Council, Inc. v. Wadmond
  401 U.S. 154Decided February 23, 19715–4Potter Stewart
• United States v. Weller
  401 U.S. 254Decided February 24, 19718–1Potter Stewart
• Monitor Patriot Co. v. Roy
  401 U.S. 265Decided February 24, 19717–2Potter Stewart

See all

Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error