Denver authorities were told by a court today to back off of their new policy banning suspected lawbreakers from parks without hearings or other due process.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado issued a statement lauding the county court ruling by Judge Clarisse Gonzales, dismissing all charges against Troy Holm, who could have gone to jail for up to a year after he entered a park where he had been banned under the city’s directive.

According to Denverite, Holm, who was represented in court by the ACLU, had been banned from Denver’s Commons Park by a police officer who said he had seen Holm illegally in possession of marijuana. Under the much-debated policy implemented by the city last year, Holm wasn’t arrested or charged with any crime; he was handed a document informing him he was banned from the park for three months. When he allegedly returned only days later, he then was charged with trespassing under the same new law.

In today’s ruling, the court found police were given sweeping discretion that violated civil rights:

“As the park suspensions under Temporary Directive 2016-1 take effect immediately, within the pure unchecked discretion of any police officer on the scene, and with a complete lack of pre-deprivation Due Process, the suspensions violate procedural Due Process protections and are found unconstitutional for this reason.”

Here’s more from the ACLU’s public statement to the press:

“By authorizing police to issue so-called suspension notices that immediately made it a crime to enter a public park, Denver attempted an end-run around the Constitution and the Bill of Rights,” said Mark Silverstein, ACLU Legal Director.  “The court’s ruling affirms a bedrock principle of due process: the government cannot take away our rights without first providing, at a minimum, notice of the accusation and a fair opportunity to defend against it.”