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Monday, November 28, 2005

THERESA DANG’S TRIAL DELAYED UNTIL NOV. 29TH

Deputy DA handling this matter is “out on vacation”
same day her case was expected to go on trial

By DUANE J. ROBERTS
duaneroberts92804@yahoo.com

WESTMINSTER, CA – When B. Kwaku Duren, attorney for
Theresa Dang, battled freeway traffic to arrive at the
West Justice Center this morning, he was ready and
eager to mount a vigorous defense on behalf of his
client. His suitcase was packed with handwritten
notes, motions, briefs, videos -- everything he needed
to show that Dang was innocent of the misdemeanor
petty theft charge that had been brought against her
by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

Duren, like everybody else, knew that today was the
day this case was finally going to go to trial. That’s
why Dang’s father and about a dozen friends were
present in the courtroom. Even a reporter from KFWB
news radio straggled in during a brief recess to learn
more about what was going on.

But there was one problem. Erik Petersen, the Orange
County Deputy District Attorney assigned the task of
prosecuting this case on behalf of “the people of
California” was nowhere to be found. Why, it was
asked? Another Deputy District Attorney on duty gave
us a most unusual explanation: Petersen was “out on
vacation.”

Despite the fact that Orange County Superior Court
Judge Linda S. Marks, the judicial officer who
presides over Department W3, scheduled this case to go
on trial more than a month ago, Petersen decided –
unbeknownst to anybody else with perhaps the exception
of his superiors -- that this was going to be his day
to play hooky.

A delay tactic, perhaps? It’s quite possible the
Orange County District Attorney’s Office is a bit
nervous about this case. They've gotten alot of flack
over this matter given the enormous amount of media
coverage that has been generated. It is
estimated that more than one million people in the
Southern California area alone have read or heard
something about it.

But let’s give Petersen the benefit of the doubt.
Maybe he was enjoying his Thanksgiving holiday so much
that he just wanted to spend a bit more time away from
another grueling day at work. After all, the case the
Garden Grove Police have put together against Dang is
a real turkey; if any of us were in his shoes, we'd
probably play hooky, too.

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Dang’s case is now expected to go to trial on Tuesday,
November 29th, beginning at 8:30 am (Pacific Standard
Time) in Dept. W3 at the West Justice Center in
Westminster, California. The address is 8131 13th
Street,
Westminster. See
http://www.occourts.org/locations/westmap.asp for a
map of where the courthouse is located.

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Permission granted for reproduction of the above
article in any not-for-profit publication providing
credit is given to the author

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FOR MORE INFO ABOUT THIS CASE, SEE THE FOLLOWING
LINKS:

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Minuteman Flap Leads to Home Search
Daniel Yi
6/18/05
The Los Angeles Times

http://la.indymedia.org/news/2005/06/129652.php

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GG Police pursue phony criminal charge against woman
hit by Minuteman supporter
Duane Roberts
6/17/05
la.indymedia.org

http://www.la.indymedia.org/news/2005/06/129491.php

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No probe of police conduct at anti-Minuteman protest
Eleeza Agopian
6/15/05
The Orange County Register

http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/2005/06/15/sections/local/local/article_560039.php

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Minutes of Tuesday, June 14th meeting of the Garden
Grove City Council where Theresa Dang spoke critically
of the police
6/14/05
City of Garden Grove

http://ch.ci.garden-grove.ca.us/internet/pdf/afm/cc/f06142005.pdf

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The first photo on this page is of Theresa Dang, one
of four persons struck by a minivan driven by Hal
Netkin
LA-IMC
5/25/05
la.indymedia.org

http://www.la.indymedia.org/news/2005/05/127222.php

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Garden Grove Police Lt. Mike Handfield sends me a
message about Theresa Dang
Duane Roberts
6/21/05
la.indymedia.org

http://www.la.indymedia.org/news/2005/06/130193.php

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Theresa Dang's arraignment hearing continued
until Wednesday, July 27th
Duane Roberts
6/27/05
la.indymedia.org

http://www.la.indymedia.org/news/2005/06/130898.php

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Event turns hostile
Martin Wisckol
5/26/05
The Orange County Register

http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/2005/05/26/sections/local/local/article_534946.php

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