Judge Delays Scheduled Ruling on North Vietnam Flag

An Orange County judge on Thursday delayed a scheduled ruling in the case of a Westminster video store owner who displayed a Communist Vietnamese flag and photo of leader Ho Chi Minh in his shop.

Superior Court Judge Barbara Tam Nomoto Schumann instead ordered lawyers on both sides in the case to return to court Wednesday.

The case revolves around Truong Van Tran, 37, of Stanton, who set off five days of protests by hundreds of Vietnamese Americans when he hung up the Communist paraphernalia.

Community members, many of whom are refugees who fled South Vietnam after Communist troops took over the country, were enraged that Tran was flaunting his support for a government they considered brutal and repressive.