A Las Vegas Municipal Court judge on Wednesday threw out a case against a California man who was cited in August under a new ordinance that bars the public from feeding homeless people in city parks.

In dismissing the misdemeanor case against Patrick Band, Judge George Assad said the ordinance was unconstitutional because it was vague and denied equal protection of the law.

The city attorney's office said it filed an appeal of the decision Thursday morning.

Allen Lichtenstein, general counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, filed a federal lawsuit in August asking a judge to declare the ordinance unconstitutional. He said Assad's ruling supports his assertion that the ordinance is just that.

"There is absolutely no justification and no basis for marshals, police or anyone else to be arresting or citing people based on this law that a Las Vegas judge has ruled unconstitutional," Lichtenstein said.

The ACLU of Nevada on Thursday filed a request for a preliminary injunction to stop the city from enforcing the ordinance.

Band was cited this summer for feeding indigent people at Huntridge Circle Park. He was in Las Vegas to participate in a protest against the city ordinance.

Reached in Northern California on Thursday evening, Band said he was surprised by Assad's decision.

"For a judge on that level to throw out a case and to claim it's unconstitutional, that's rare and exciting and interesting," Band said. "Personally, it's a great thing. I'm glad that's taken care of."

Band is one of five people who have been cited under the ordinance, passed in July, that makes it illegal to provide "food or meals to the indigent for free or for a nominal fee" in parks.

Two of the cases have been continued pending the outcome of the federal lawsuit.

Gail Sacco, a prominent local activist for the homeless who was cited Oct. 13 for feeding indigent people at the same park, has a court date Nov. 28.

The defendant in the final case negotiated her case so that if she stays out of trouble for six months the charges will be dropped.

In an e-mail, Ben Little, assistant Las Vegas city attorney in charge of the criminal division, said Assad dismissed the case "without any opportunity to be heard by the city prosecutor -- who objected to the summary dismissal."

Little said he couldn't comment further "as the case remains pending."

The ACLU of Nevada on Thursday also announced that the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, and The Rutherford Institute have filed or plan to file "amicus," or friend of the court, briefs opposing the ordinance as unconstitutional.

"Anybody that's prepared to go out and feed homeless people should be protected by the government, not persecuted," said John Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "The Constitution protects that."

A civil rights attorney for the National Law Center agreed.

"We believe the ordinance poses many constitutional problems," Tulin Ozdeger said. "We think it violates equal protection because it targets indigent individuals. It also violates people's right to free associate and (food) providers' freedom to exercise their religious beliefs."

The city ordinance targeted "mobile soup kitchens," cases in which people regularly bring large amounts of food to parks. Residents have complained that the impromptu soup kitchens attract the homeless and render the facilities unusable by families.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman has been a vocal supporter of cracking down on the homeless in city parks.

He has said feeding the homeless there draws them away from social-service providers who can meet their other needs, such as treatment for mental health and substance abuse problems.

Goodman could not be reached for comment Thursday.