Gargoyling, harassment, free speech in Little 'Nam

[Blank Frank]

Thursday, January 25, 2001 |  Print this

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                                            Free Speech Limits Tested in
Little
                                            Saigon
                                              A judge will decide
whether videotaping
                                            of clients at 'communist'
doctor's office is
                                            harassment or political
protest.

                                            By MAI TRAN, Times Staff
Writer


                                                 For the last two
months, an
                                            anti-Communist demonstrator
has been
                                            videotaping patients as they
enter the
                                            offices of a prominent
Little Saigon doctor
                                            whom he considers a
communist for
                                            supporting normalized trade
with
                                            Vietnam.
                                                 The protest has sparked
a legal battle
                                            over where to draw the line
between free
                                            speech and privacy rights at
a time when
                                            anti-Communist protesters
are
                                            increasingly turning to
these tactics.
                                                 An Orange County judge
last week
                                            temporarily barred the
demonstrator, Duc
                                            Tran, from standing within
100 yards of
                                            the medical clinic. He is
expected to rule
                                            Feb. 3 whether Tran's
protest, which also
                                            includes shouting insults at
patients and
                                            holding signs, amounts to
harassment.
                                                 "He'd follow them
around with his
                                            video camera, screaming and
cursing," said
                                            Edward Susolik, an attorney
for doctor Co
                                            Pham. "He was highly
intimidating."
                                                 This is not the first
time protesters have
                                            used cameras as part of
their campaigns.
                                            Westminster City Councilman
Tony Lam's
                                            restaurant was the target of

                                            anti-Communist protesters
with video
                                            equipment two years ago over
what they
                                            considered his lack of
support for the their
                                            cause.
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http://www.latimes.com/editions/orange/20010125/t000007231.html