EDITORIAL:

More than two years and $30,000 later, it’s time the city of Costa Mesa drops its case against Benito Acosta, also known as Coyotl Tezcatlipoca.

The Appellate Court of Orange County has made it abundantly clear that further pursuing the case will be a waste of time and money. The court upheld the ruling of Judge Kelly MacEachern, who threw out the city’s case because Dan Peelman, the attorney who prosecuted the case, had not been sworn in as a public prosecutor.

“We’re extremely happy the court agreed with us that Mr. Peelman did not have the authority to act as a public prosecutor,” said Belinda Helzer, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing Acosta. “Continuing to pursue these criminal issues really doesn’t help the residents at all. It would be a shame if the city continued to pursue prosecution of this nature.”

Indeed.

But now, city officials are considering requesting a rehearing in front of the three-judge panel that upheld MacEachern’s earlier ruling.

We say enough is enough.

The circumstances surrounding this case have been cloudy from the beginning.

Acosta was arrested at a Jan. 3, 2006 City Council meeting, where he, along with many others, objected to the idea of training local police officers to enforce federal immigration laws.

Acosta was physically removed from the Council Chambers after asking his supporters to stand up.

Some contend that a member of the anti-illegal immigration group the Minutemen had earlier asked his supporters to stand in support, and that there were no repercussions when they did.

Of course, at the core of the controversy is a disagreement over Costa Mesa’s hardline stance on illegal immigration.

That disagreement will abide, and elections will determine the course the city takes in the future.

But don’t try to settle the debate with a trumped-up case that was shaky from the get-go.