PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) -A Florida federal judge says banned sprinter Justin Gatlin should be allowed to compete at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials.

U.S. District Judge Lacey A. Collier’s temporary restraining order is only in effect for 10 days, and the trials don’t begin until June 27 in Eugene, Ore.

Gatlin’s lawyer, Joe Zarzaur, says his client is “guardedly, cautiously optimistic.”

A Monday hearing in Pensacola has been set to discuss the order.

“We respect and will participate in the process,” USA Track and Field spokesman Jill Geer said. “Our general counsel (Lamont) Jones will be in Florida on Monday to be part of the hearing.”

Gatlin’s complaint alleged that penalizing him for a 2001 doping violation, which involved medication he was taking for attention deficit disorder, violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Two weeks ago, the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a four-year doping ban against the reigning Olympic 100-meter gold medalist. Gatlin asked CAS to rescind the 2001 doping violation – his first of two – which he had hoped would reduce his penalty to a two-year ban, allowing him to compete at trials.

The order, like Gatlin’s appeal to CAS, centers on the 26-year-old’s first doping offense – a positive test for amphetamines at the 2001 junior nationals. The substance was part of medication Gatlin was taking for attention deficit disorder.

Gatlin received a two-year suspension but was reinstated after one year.

Now he wants that offense erased, contending the punishment violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. Collier made it clear she agreed and that only a maze of international sports bureaucracy clouded the issue.

“In the midst of this intractable situation, it is abundantly clear that, if anyone were to actually deal with the facts of this case head-on, they would readily conclude, formally, that plaintiff was not at fault for the first violation, and would as a consequence end his suspension immediately,” the judge wrote.

The sprinter’s mother, Jeanette Gatlin, says “we’re joyful. That’s all I can say.”

The 26-year-old Gatlin, who insists he never knowingly took performance-enhancing drugs, has not competed since winning the 100 meters at the U.S. championships in June 2006, a title that has since been taken away.

If allowed to compete at the trials, Gatlin would have to finish in the top three of his event to make the U.S. Olympic team. The first two rounds of the 100-meter qualifying are set for June 28. The semifinals and finals are the following day.

The contention that Gatlin’s first doping ban violated the ADA was raised by a member of the U.S. arbitration panel that reduced his doping ban from eight years to four in January. Christopher L. Campbell, in a dissenting opinion, called it “blatant discrimination.”

If Gatlin’s suspension stands, Collier wrote, “the country, indeed the world, would be wrongfully excluded from watching one of its great athletes perform.”

Despite the judge’s ruling Friday, it’s not clear whether the international bodies that govern participation in the Olympics must abide by it.

When the CAS rejected Gatlin’s appeal, CAS secretary general Matthieu Reeb said the only legal option he knew of for Gatlin was to go before the Swiss Federal Tribunal, an appeal provided by Swiss law because CAS is based in Switzerland.

The U.S. Olympic Committee agreed.

“We view this as an anti-doping matter and believe the appropriate forum for adjudication and resolution is through the American Arbitration Association or the International Court of Arbitration for Sport,” USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel said at the time.

AP-ES-06-20-08 1836EDT