A Douglas County District Court judge stopped a constitutional challenge of the city’s smoking ban this afternoon.

Judge Jack Murphy ruled that Dennis Steffes, owner of Coyote’s and Last Call, no longer had the legal standing to challenge the constitutionality of the ordinance since city officials have dismissed all charges against him related to an alleged violation of the ban.

Steffes had asked the judge to allow the case to move ahead. He said he now had to determine what would be the best way for him to challenge the ordinance in the future.

City prosecutors said they were pleased with the ruling, and despite dismissing the charges, still believed that the ban was constitutional. City commissioners, though, are scheduled to review possible changes to the ban that would address concerns that it does not provide specific direction for what business owners should do when someone is smoking in their establishments.