(Via L.A. Times)
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. (Full Story)
The dismissal was handed down because the Costa Mesa prosecutor Danny Peelman did not meet the requirements to be a city prosecutor. The judge dismissed the charges because Peelman had not been properly sworn in by the city clerk -- as required by state law. Afterwards Peelman stated, "The decision of the court this afternoon had nothing to do with the merits of the case".
The decision is a defeat for Mayor Allan Mansoor and the City of Costa Mesa who now must defend themselves from a civil case filed by Acosta which is set for April 2008. Criminal charges against Acosta are unlikely to be re-filed because it would require an appellate court to overturn the dismissal handed down by Orange County Superior Court Judge Kelly MacEachern.
Peelman works for Jones & Mayer a Fullerton, California law firm that charges the City of Costa Mesa $165 per hour for its services. The decision by Mayor Mansoor, the city prosecutor and their supporters to criminally charge Acosta is likely to cost the City of Costa Mesa a significant sum of money, especially if Acosta prevails in his civil case.
The video below is from the incident between Acosta and the Costa Mesa City Council, that resulted in Acosta's arrest.
The dismissal was handed down because the Costa Mesa prosecutor Danny Peelman did not meet the requirements to be a city prosecutor. The judge dismissed the charges because Peelman had not been properly sworn in by the city clerk -- as required by state law. Afterwards Peelman stated, "The decision of the court this afternoon had nothing to do with the merits of the case".
The decision is a defeat for Mayor Allan Mansoor and the City of Costa Mesa who now must defend themselves from a civil case filed by Acosta which is set for April 2008. Criminal charges against Acosta are unlikely to be re-filed because it would require an appellate court to overturn the dismissal handed down by Orange County Superior Court Judge Kelly MacEachern.
Peelman works for Jones & Mayer a Fullerton, California law firm that charges the City of Costa Mesa $165 per hour for its services. The decision by Mayor Mansoor, the city prosecutor and their supporters to criminally charge Acosta is likely to cost the City of Costa Mesa a significant sum of money, especially if Acosta prevails in his civil case.
The video below is from the incident between Acosta and the Costa Mesa City Council, that resulted in Acosta's arrest.
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