Benito Acosta and free speech prevail in Costa Mesa

Belated congratulations to Benito Acosta, aka Coyotl Tezcatlipoca! “Costa Mesa’s high-profile prosecution of an immigrant advocate ejected by police from a 2006 City Council meeting was dismissed by an Orange County judge Monday, according to the L.A. Times, Orange County edition.

Here are a few more excerpts from the Times article:

Orange County Superior Court Judge Kelly MacEachern threw out the case on a procedural issue after learning that Costa Mesa’s attorney, Dan Peelman, had never been sworn in as city prosecutor by the city clerk — as required by state law. The case, she said, amounted to “a denial of due process.”

Failure to accept the oath to represent the people “is not a harmless mistake,” MacEachern said. “This is a constitutional issue.”

Mansoor declined to comment Monday.

Councilman Eric Bever said, “I think we have to follow the legal process, and that’s what the judge’s decision is and we have to accept it.”

I previously introduced this case at this link, and then presented Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor’s take on it, after he called me at this link. I felt from the start that this case was a bogus one, and I am glad Acosta prevailed.

But according to the Daily Pilot, this is not over:

“Now that Costa Mesa


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