Apparently, anything does go in Las Vegas -- including "going" anywhere.

A judge's decision to throw out the city's law banning "immodest, improper or indecent behavior" has left Las Vegas without an ordinance against urinating or defecating in public.

"You want to urinate anywhere you want in the city, feel free to do it," said a disgusted Mayor Oscar Goodman. "My understanding is there won't be any criminal prosecution."

City marshals, who patrol parks and city facilities, have complained that they can no longer enforce the law since a District Court judge upheld a Municipal Court ruling that the law is too broad.

But before dropping trow, the public should be aware that there's still a law on the books against indecent exposure. And the city attorney's office said officials have been using an ordinance against depositing "filthy fluids" in public -- originally drafted to ban dumping oil -- to bust those who use the sidewalk as a commode.

"It's a stop-gap measure," admitted city spokesman David Riggleman. "It hasn't been used very much."

Not to mention the uncomfortable fact that defecation doesn't usually fall under that category.

The city is working on a new ordinance that would specifically ban urination, defecation and vomiting in public. Medical excuses grant the violators exceptions from a misdemeanor charge, punishable by $1,000 fine or six months in jail. But it's also a violation if you "fail to clean or remove the material deposited."

"We have no problem with the filthy fluids ordinance," said City Attorney Brad Jerbic. "But the fact is, if we don't want people urinating in public, we're going to say that."

The whole mess, as it were, started when a woman was arrested in October 2004 for asking an undercover officer to expose his genitals to prove he wasn't a police officer. It's a common tactic among prostitutes.

The woman was charged with soliciting "immodest, improper, or indecent behavior" -- the same ordinance the city had been using for years to cite those relieving themselves in public.

But Municipal Judge Abbi Silver ruled against the prosecution on a number of grounds, including that the ordinance was unconstitutional. "If this is not a vague and overbroad ordinance, then I don't know what is," the judge said, according to a transcript of the proceedings.

The city later appealed to District Court, where Judge Lee Gates agreed with Silver's opinion that the ordinance was too broad.

Rather than appeal the case again, city officials decided to draft new ordinances to replace the immodest, improper or indecent behavior law that they had been using to prosecute a variety of offenses.

Clark County spokesman Erik Pappa said the county doesn't have a law specifically banning urination or defecation in public. But, he said, there are a number of state statutes that could be used to charge offenders, including disturbing the peace.

As far as the bad behavior the city's proposed ordinance is intended to address, Devin Smith, the city's manager of Neighborhood Response, said there is definitely a problem with people defecating and urinating outside, particularly in downtown Las Vegas. He said the problem seems to become more acute in the summer months, as more people are outside.

Teams of city employees patrol problem areas, looking for garbage, graffiti and other problems that need cleaning up. The city doesn't track the number of cleanups of bodily waste.

"With urination and defecation in public, you don't witness it happening a lot, but you find it in alleyways, behind casinos, and particularly near homeless encampments," Smith said.

In 2004, the city sprayed all of downtown with a disinfectant meant to rid the area of a foul smell. Some blamed the stench on people relieving themselves in alleys.

Now, the city sprays down areas when they clean up human waste.

The proposed city ordinance to specifically ban urination, defecation and vomiting in public still must be voted on by the City Council. Officials said it could take effect as early as August.