Steffel v. Thompson

Steffel and a friend, Becker (plaintiffs), were distributing antiwar leaflets at a shopping center and were threatened with arrest for trespassing if they continued. Steffel stopped; Becker continued and was prosecuted. Both sued in federal court seeking an injunction against enforcement of the trespass statute and a declaratory judgment that its application to them violated the First Amendment. The trial court denied relief, the Fifth Circuit affirmed, and Steffel sought Supreme Court review of the denial of his declaratory judgment claim (he was not facing an actual pending prosecution, unlike Becker).