NEW YORK – On Thursday, a U.S. District Court judge stopped enforcement of a New York State law that assessed criminal penalties to retailers who tacked on a fee for customers paying with credit cards instead of cash, Reuters reports.

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff decided for several retailers who had filed lawsuits against the regulation on the grounds that their free speech rights were trampled by not allowing them to tell customers about the fees associated with credit card payments. Rakoff founded his ruling on the First Amendment. The law “perpetuates consumer confusion by preventing sellers from using the most effective means at their disposal to educate consumers about the true costs of credit-card usage.”

Retailers violating the state law could face a 12-month sentence in prison plus a $500 fine for adding a surcharge to credit card purchases. The judge blocked the enforcement with a preliminary injunction while the case is pending.

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said the law’s intention was to protect shoppers from unexpected additions to their checkout tallies. Neither office commented on the ruling as of press time.

A new report issued this week found that lower debit card swipe fees spurs lower prices. Reducing the cost for merchants to swipe debit cards put $5.8 billion back into the hands of consumers through lower prices, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition.