In Largent v. Texas (1942), the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state, upholding a conviction against Fred R. Largent for selling books without a license, which was required by Gainesville city ordinance. The case revolved around whether this requirement violated his First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and press or Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process and equal protection under law. Largent argued that he was not engaged in commercial activity but rather disseminating religious literature as part of Jehovah's Witnesses, thus should be exempt from needing a license. The court disagreed with him, stating that while religious liberty is protected under the Constitution, it does not grant immunity from general laws regulating conduct such as requiring licenses for door-to-door salesmen - even if they are distributing religious materials instead of traditional goods or services. This decision upheld an earlier ruling made in Jones v Opelika (1942) where similar arguments were rejected on grounds that cities have right to regulate solicitation activities within their jurisdiction for maintaining public order and protecting residents' privacy.

In the dissenting opinion for Largent v. Texas, Justice Murphy argued that the state of Texas had violated Mrs. Largent's First Amendment rights by convicting her for soliciting without a permit to distribute religious literature door-to-door. He believed that this conviction was an infringement on her freedom of speech and religion as she was spreading information about Jehovah’s Witnesses, a recognized religious group in America. According to him, while states have the right to regulate certain activities for public safety or health reasons, they cannot use these powers to suppress fundamental freedoms such as free speech and religion unless there is clear evidence showing harm caused by those activities. In this case, he did not see any substantial threat posed by Mrs.Largent's actions warranting such suppression.