Santa Ana Will Continue Legal Fight With Theater

Tom Steel, attorney for the Mitchell Bros. adult movie theaters, thought a 10-year legal battle with the City of Santa Ana might end this week.

City Atty. Edward C. Cooper and City Manager Robert C. Bobb traveled to Steel’s San Francisco office last week and made a tentative proposal to end the prolonged fracas. The city would drop its five lawsuits alleging that movies shown at the 17th Street theater are obscene and file no further actions during the five years remaining on the Mitchell’s lease. In return, the Mitchells would make no demands for attorney’s fees.

But on Monday, the City Council rejected the proposal. Instead, the council voted unanimously in a closed-door session to have Sun Valley attorney James Clancy, who specializes in anti-pornography litigation, continue to represent the city on a $50-an-hour contract. The council also allocated $200,000 toward its legal fight to shut down the theater.

Cooper said Wednesday that he recommended the settlement because the city has spent about $193,000 since the first lawsuit was filed against the theater in 1976. Also, Santa Ana does not have the staff available to continue the case without Clancy, Cooper said, and the recent dismissal of one of the cases could be followed by a demand for attorney’s fees.

The city’s only victory in the case, he said, has been a Superior Court injunction preventing the screening of 11 films. An attempt to close the theater was rejected 10 years ago.

Awaits Court Ruling

But Clancy said he thinks an expected ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in June in one of the suits could give the city the power to close the theater as a public nuisance. “I say there’s no way the cases can be lost,” he said.

Steel said he had hoped that the court battles might finally be over Monday and said attorneys’ fees in the recently dismissed case could total “a couple of hundred thousand dollars.” He said attorneys’ fees over the 10 years could reach $1 million.

Clancy said he would like Steel to submit an affidavit proving the $1-million claim.

The theater owners, brothers Artie and James Mitchell, aren’t disputing the fact that the films are pornographic, Clancy said. Instead, he said, “they’re trying to legalize the fact that they can show hard-core pornography.”

Expressing disappointment at the decision, Steel said he believes Clancy persuaded the City Council to disregard Cooper’s recommendation. “I thought they were finally coming around and becoming reasonable,” he said. “But I’m afraid the voice of extremism has prevailed.”