If Dennis Steffes listens to his lawyer’s advice there will be smoking again soon at his Lawrence nightclubs Coyotes and Last Call.

“If it was me, I would put ashtrays in my bar and have a smoke-in,” attorney Billy Rork said. “But it is not up to me.”

Steffes refused to say if he would or wouldn’t after city prosecutors Tuesday dropped all charges against him related to a previous allegation he had violated the city’s smoking ban by allowing customers to light up.

After the charges were dropped, Douglas County District Court Judge Jack Murphy dealt Steffes a legal setback by ruling that because he was no longer accused of violating the ban, he no longer had legal standing to challenge the ban’s constitutionality. Steffes had hoped to advance his case in court to confirm his belief that the city’s smoking ban is unconstitutional.

Steffes could heed Rork’s advice and go courting new violations as soon as Thursday, which is when his clubs open for weekend business.

“I’m not sure I should comment on that right now,” Steffes said, when asked if he’ll try to run afoul of city enforcers so he can get a fresh case for challenging the ban. “It seems like we are sending the message that this is unenforceable.”

City prosecutor Jerry Little said the city dropped the case because it had become difficult to justify the time and expense being spent on a case that would result only in a $100 fine.

He said that was particularly true given that city commissioners are considering changes to the ordinance that would more specifically define what business owners are required to do when someone is smoking in their establishments.

The lack of specific instructions has been a complaint of Steffes and other bar owners. Little said it made more sense for the city to defend the ordinance after the changes were made.

But Little said no one should mistake the city’s dismissal of the charges as a sign that prosecutors believe the ordinance, as is, is unconstitutional. Municipal Court Judge Randy McGrath ruled in April that the ban passed constitutional muster.

“You bet we still believe it is constitutional,” Little said. “We have had one judge rule in our favor on that and we have no reason to believe another judge wouldn’t also rule that way.”

David Corliss, assistant city manager and director of legal services, said the city still believed the current ordinance was enforceable. But he said changes to the ordinance that would attempt to address concerns raised by bar owners would be on the city commission’s July 19 agenda.

Steffes stopped far short of saying he would allow patrons to begin smoking again in his two bars, but he said he needed to do something to rectify the uncertainty surrounding the ban because sales were off by about 40 percent at his businesses.

The club owner has other means to challenge the constitutionality of the ordinance without violating the ban. He could file a civil suit or appeal Murphy’s decision to the Kansas Court of Appeals. In either case, Rork said Steffes could ask for the court to grant a stay that would stop enforcement of the current ban. Steffes said he also would consider those options.

“What I can tell you is that we’re far from finished,” Steffes said.