In the 1974 case Fry et al. v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled on whether a federal statute that made it illegal to destroy draft cards was constitutional under the First Amendment's protection of free speech. The appellants were convicted for burning their draft cards as an anti-war protest during the Vietnam War and argued that this act constituted symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment. However, in a unanimous decision, the court upheld their convictions and found that Congress had not violated any constitutional rights when enacting this law because its purpose was to ensure smooth operation of a system designed for conscription into military service rather than suppress free expression. Therefore, while acknowledging that destroying draft cards could be seen as expressive conduct with political significance, it did not fall within constitutionally protected forms of communication due to its potential disruption of important governmental functions.

In the dissenting opinion for Fry et al. v. United States, Justice Douglas argued that the majority's decision to uphold a federal statute prohibiting picketing in front of schools was an infringement on First Amendment rights. He contended that peaceful protests should not be criminalized and noted that this ruling could potentially lead to further restrictions on free speech in other public spaces such as parks or sidewalks. Furthermore, he disagreed with the majority's assertion that school children needed protection from being exposed to political demonstrations, arguing instead for their right to witness and learn from these expressions of democracy at work.