The jacket said "Fuck the draft" on the back.
Luckily, the conviction was overturned on this day in 1971 because the Supreme Court decided that this was a case about speech and not conduct. The jacket was a protest of words, not action, so it was free speech. Of course, there was dissent, but the 30 day jail term was overturned, 5-4.
Movies have been banned in the US for the same reason as Paul Cohen's jacket was nearly banned, but not the same way that they're banned in other countries.
In England, the Video Nasties were banned throughout the country. In America, we tend to ban films in certain cities or states. Then, just like Cohen's jacket, they're legalized again because no one can legally ban a film or music. It's their choice whether they sell or consume it, but they can't stop others from selling or consuming it…for the most part.
Here are five films that were banned at one time or another by different cities or states in America.
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