Santa Ana Adult Theater Survives Another Attempt to Shut It Down

For the 51st time in two years, a judge Wednesday refused to shut down the Mitchell Brothers adult movie theater in Santa Ana as a public nuisance.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Gary L. Taylor denied the request by Lincoln Savings & Loan Assn., a neighbor of the theater, for a preliminary injunction, ruling that it failed to show an emergency exists.

Taylor told lawyers for Lincoln Savings that they should schedule a full trial on their claims, rather than seek an emergency order.

The West 17th Street movie house has shown X-rated films for 10 years, Taylor said. “A lot of people don’t like it; a few people do.”

The attorney for Lincoln Savings is James J. Clancy, who directed Santa Ana’s unsuccessful efforts to close the theater. Over Clancy’s objections, the city agreed to pay Mitchell Brothers Santa Ana Theatre $200,000 in March to end the expensive and fruitless litigation.

A day later, a similar lawsuit was filed by Lincoln Savings, which is headed by millionaire anti-pornography crusader Charles H. Keating Jr. of Phoenix.

In the Lincoln Savings case, Clancy alleged in court papers that the entire Orange County Superior Court engaged in unconstitutional practices that have frustrated his efforts to close the theater. Clancy alleged that courts have not granted hearings quickly enough to decide whether a particular film is obscene before the theater replaces it with a new title.

In an unusual move, Clancy this week tried to upset the deal that ended the litigation between the city and the theater. Clancy asked a state appellate court to reinstate 29 separate lawsuits that were dismissed on March 26 as part of the settlement.

Clancy was fired by Santa Ana City Attorney Edward Cooper when he tried to interfere with the settlement in March.

Thomas Steel, the Mitchell Brothers lawyer, called Clancy’s appeal “absolutely incredible.” He said Clancy had nothing to do with the cases and said the deadline for appeal had long since passed.