Editorial:

Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor and city officials scored a big win in federal court this week — dispatching a free-speech lawsuit brought by Benito Acosta.

“Today, free speech was upheld, and disruptive behavior was put in its place,” Mansoor proclaimed Monday in an e-mailed beamed out minutes after the eight jurors delivered its swift verdict against the activist.

Yet we urge the mayor and Costa Mesa’s other leaders to reflect on this nasty and drawn-out episode in city politics. They should use this opportunity to take greater care in how they enforce public comment rules at meetings. Failing to do so will only expose the city to future costly lawsuits by activists.

Acosta sued Mansoor, claiming that his 1st Amendment rights were violated when the mayor interrupted him in the middle of his allotted three minutes of speaking time during a tense City Council meeting in January 2006. Soon after, police arrested him, hauling him out of the Council Chambers.

While his arrest was unnecessary and heavy-handed, we’re not going to let Acosta off the hook either. He was out of line for calling Mansoor and the council “[expletive] racist pigs” during the session that immediately preceded the one at which he was arrested. Through his outburst Acosta undermined himself and weakened his own cause, draining it of any wider public sympathy.