In the case of Ray v. United States in 1936, the Supreme Court ruled on a matter involving jury selection and racial discrimination. The petitioner, an African American man named Fred Ray, was convicted for murder by an all-white jury in Oklahoma. He appealed his conviction to the Supreme Court arguing that he had been denied equal protection under law because no African Americans were included in either grand or petit juries due to systematic exclusion based on race by state officials. However, the court upheld his conviction with a 7-2 decision stating that there was insufficient evidence proving systematic exclusion of black jurors at both levels (grand and petit). The majority opinion held that while it is unconstitutional to exclude individuals from serving on juries solely based on their race or color, mere allegations are not enough; concrete proof must be provided demonstrating such discriminatory practices.

In the dissenting opinion for Ray v. United States, Justice McReynolds argued that the majority's decision to uphold a Jehovah's Witness' conviction for soliciting without a permit was an infringement on religious freedom. He contended that the ordinance in question was not neutral and instead targeted specific groups based on their beliefs or practices, which is unconstitutional under the First Amendment. Furthermore, he believed there were no compelling state interests justifying such restrictions as it did not prevent fraud or protect public safety but rather suppressed unpopular views. He also criticized how broadly this law could be applied - potentially affecting any person distributing literature of any kind - making it too vague and thus invalid under due process grounds.