SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) - A Greene County judge has rejected a request for an injunction against a smoking ban in Springfield, meaning the ordinance approved by voters went into effect at just after midnight Saturday morning.
The Springfield News-Leader reports Associate Circuit Judge Jason Brown ruled against the request because the Western District of Missouri Appeals Court rejected similar arguments.
In both cases Kansas City attorney Jonathan Sternberg argued the smoking bans violated a Missouri law that lets bars allow smoking as long as they post signs that say "nonsmoking areas unavailable."
Brown says the same signage issue existed in the Kansas City case and was presumably considered when the appeals court made its decision.
A lawsuit opposing the Springfield ban remains pending.
Information from: Springfield News-Leader, http://www.news-leader.com