In the 1968 case Gregory et al. v. City of Chicago, a group of African American students led by comedian Dick Gregory peacefully protested against racial segregation in public schools outside Mayor Richard Daley's home in Chicago. They were arrested and convicted for disorderly conduct when they refused to disperse after being ordered to do so by police who claimed that their protest was causing unrest among onlookers and could potentially incite violence or property damage. The Supreme Court unanimously overturned these convictions, ruling that peaceful protests cannot be deemed as disorderly conduct simply because they might provoke hostility from bystanders or cause inconvenience. This decision reaffirmed the First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and assembly, emphasizing that any potential disturbance caused by a peaceful demonstration is not sufficient grounds for criminal charges unless there is clear evidence indicating imminent danger.

In the dissenting opinion for Gregory et al. v. City of Chicago, Justice Black argued that the majority's decision to reverse the convictions of peaceful protesters was incorrect because it failed to consider that their conduct could have incited a violent response from onlookers. He believed that even though the demonstrators were not themselves violent or disorderly, they should be held responsible if their actions provoked others into violence or disorderliness. According to him, this principle is necessary in order to maintain public peace and safety; otherwise, any group could potentially cause chaos by staging provocative demonstrations with impunity as long as they remained nonviolent themselves. Furthermore, he criticized his colleagues for overstepping their judicial authority by second-guessing how local law enforcement officials handled such situations instead of deferring to them unless there was clear evidence of constitutional violations.