Argued on March 29, 1940, and decided on May 20, 1940, the case of Cantwell v. Connecticut solidified the legal definition of protected speech in relation to religion. Before the opinion, it was not definitively clear what constitutional limits existed on speech of a religious nature. Though federal protections were primarily agreed upon, there was little concurrence regarding how far these protections went at local or state levels. The case came before the court after three Jehovah’s Witnesses, all men of the Cantwell family, were arrested for traveling door-to-door selling materials proselytizing against the Catholic religion in a predominately Catholic neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut. The Cantwells’ proselytizing effort offended two men to the point that the men reacted angrily. The Cantwells were arrested under a Connecticut law requiring solicitors to apply for and obtain a certificate before soliciting funds from the public and for inciting a breach of the peace. The Cantwells appealed to the Connecticut Supreme Court claiming a violation of their civil rights.