People Ex Rel. Cooper v. Mitchell Bros.' Santa Ana Theater

Plaintiff appeals from those portions of a superior court order that denied the plaintiff’s motion for attorney’s fees on appeal, and granted that part of defendants’ motion to tax costs that objected to (1) attorney’s fees as a part of costs on appeal, and (2) costs incurred in the proceedings in the United States Supreme Court.

Defendants appeal from that part of the superior court order that denied portions of their motion to tax costs.

Some discussion of the history of this case is necessary for an understanding of the issues presented in this appeal.

Initially, both the plaintiff and defendants appealed from a judgment in an action brought by plaintiff to enjoin the showing of 17 allegedly obscene films on the ground that they constituted a public nuisance as defined by Civil Code sections 3479 and 3480. The trial was bifurcated and the case was tried in part by jury and in part to the court. The jury first decided the issues of obscenity, public nuisance, and assessed the amount of damages. Following the presentation of evidence to the jury, including the viewing of 17 films at the defendants’ theater, the jury was instructed, inter alia, that a film could be…