In the 1971 case Groppi v. Leslie, Father James Groppi was convicted for disorderly conduct in Wisconsin after leading a protest against racial segregation. He appealed his conviction on the grounds that he had not been given an opportunity to request a change of venue due to pretrial publicity and bias within Milwaukee County where he was tried. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Groppi, stating that under the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause, defendants have a right to request a change of venue if they believe they cannot receive fair treatment from local jurors because of extensive prejudicial pretrial publicity or deep-seated community sentiment against them. This ruling emphasized that every defendant has the constitutional right to be judged by an impartial jury.

In the dissenting opinion for Groppi v. Leslie, Justice Black argued that while he agreed with the majority's view on the importance of a fair trial and an unbiased jury, he disagreed with their decision to overturn Groppi's conviction. He contended that there was no constitutional requirement for a change of venue in every case where pretrial publicity might have influenced public opinion against a defendant. Instead, it should be left to state courts to decide whether or not such publicity has made it impossible for a fair trial to take place locally. Furthermore, Justice Black expressed concern about federal courts intervening too much into state criminal proceedings as this could undermine states' rights and disrupt local judicial systems.