Acosta’s trial delayed until July

A Latino activist’s federal lawsuit claiming that Costa Mesa city officials stomped over his 1st Amendment rights at a 2006 City Council meeting has been rescheduled for July.

Benito Acosta’s suit against Costa Mesa, backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, claims the city hindered his right to free speech Jan. 3, 2006, when his three-minute window to talk was cut short and the meeting was recessed for a short time. He is accusing Mayor Allan Mansoor of cutting him off in particular because Acosta was a vocal and brazenly hostile critic of Mansoor’s legislation encouraging the Police Department to enforce federal immigration laws.

The trial, which was scheduled to begin next week, is now scheduled to begin July 14 in federal court in Santa Ana. The trial is expected to last between four and eight days, said Acosta’s lawyer, Belinda Escobosa Helzer.

Acosta’s lawsuit was diluted in December when Judge David Carter threw out Acosta’s claims against Costa Mesa police officers he said falsely imprisoned him and battered him. The trial will focus on only Acosta’s 1st Amendment claims and Mansoor’s conduct that night.

The fallout of Acosta’s faceoff with City Council members that night has caused several headaches for many residents in the city. Acosta, who also goes by the name Coyotl Tezcatlipoca, was arrested that night for allegedly causing a disturbance and resisting arrest, but county prosecutors declined to charge him.

Acosta sued Costa Mesa, and city prosecutors worked to bolster their argument in civil court by prosecuting him criminally for disrupting the meeting.

However, that case was thrown out on a technicality, and three appeals to the county court and the state Supreme Court’s decision to not hear case has spelled the end of the city’s hopes of prosecuting him.

Acosta is seeking unspecified damages in his civil case.

Reporter JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com.