Benito Acosta v. City of Costa Mesa

Costa Mesa Municipal Code § 2-61 makes it a misdemeanor for members of the public who speak at City Council meetings to engage in “disorderly, insolent, or disruptive behavior.” Benito Acosta (“Acosta”) was removed from the Costa Mesa City Council meeting for an alleged violation of the ordinance. Acosta appeals the district court’s dismissal of his First Amendment facial challenge to the ordinance. He also appeals the district court’s grant of partial summary judgment in favor of the California city and various individual police officers on his state-law free speech claims and his Fourth Amendment claims. A jury returned a defense verdict on all remaining issues submitted for trial. He also appeals the district court’s discretionary decisions to admit certain evidence, refusal to give his proposed limiting instruction, denial of his renewed motion as a matter of law after the jury returned its verdict, and the denial of declaratory relief. He claims that the ordinance is facially invalid and that it was enforced against him only because he expressed a view contrary to the Mayor’s.

Because § 2-61 fails to limit proscribed activity to only actual disturbances, we reverse…