Acosta trial bill in at $585,913.65

It cost the city of Costa Mesa $585,913.65 trying to prosecute and later defend a federal lawsuit from a Latino activist and the American Civil Liberties Union, according to billing numbers from the Jones & Mayer law firm.

In December alone, Costa Mesa spent more than $60,000 successfully defending a federal lawsuit from Benito Acosta, who claimed the city abridged his 1st Amendment right to free speech when he was thrown out of a Jan. 3, 2006, Costa Mesa City Council meeting.

Acosta, 28, was cut off at the podium of the council meeting as he spoke out against the city’s plan to have police officers enforce federal immigration laws. He encouraged audience members who agreed with him to stand and continued to do so even after Mayor Allan Mansoor told them not to.

A jury took only an hour of deliberating to side with the city. ACLU officials said the organization has not decided if it will appeal the decision or not. The majority of the money was on legal fees from the Jones & Mayer law firm. Only a fraction was spent trying to prosecute Acosta on the belief he disturbed the council meeting.

— Joseph Serna