Judge Nixes Hmong Ceremony  

By Mary R. Sandok / Associated Press Writer

   MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Yer Vang came to court clutching a 
plastic bag stuffed with papers, hoping to perform a native 
ceremony she believes would cause the death of anyone who 
lied at her trial.
   But Hennepin County District Court Judge Harry Crump 
refused, saying Vang -- who was unhappy with a jury's 
verdict in a racial discrimination case she brought against 
her former employer -- would have to find another place to 
perform the Hmong ceremony.
   The Hmong are a mountain people who came to the United 
States from Southeast Asia after the Vietnam War. Vang 
apparently had counted on asking for divine help in ensuring 
justice.
   "I'm sure the gods will understand," said Crump, who 
decided Friday that "rules of decorum do not allow 
demonstrations within the courtroom area."
   Crump also rejected Vang's motion for a new trial or a 
revised judgment.
   Vang sued Caterair International Corp., an airline 
catering company where she was a food preparation worker 
from 1989 until 1996, and its successor, LSG, Lufthansa 
Services Sky Chef, for racial discrimination.
   A jury in October rejected all Vang's claims except one. 
It ruled that a supervisor had assaulted Vang in 1996 by 
yelling and putting a finger in her face. Vang was awarded 
$1,107.
   The judge's ruling didn't stop the ceremony.
   At a Twin Cities cemetery after Crump's decision, Vang 
emptied her bag of papers -- some of them court documents, 
others decorated with scalloped edges and painted red -- on 
the grave of Yee Lee, a Hmong shaman.
   As the paper burned, she wept and chanted in her native 
tongue, bowed and kissed the ground. Her interpreter said 
she was asking God for justice -- and that anyone in her 
legal case who was dishonest or discriminated against her 
should die.
   "Effective today, you will see something happen," said 
Vang's interpreter, Chanhia Yang. He said the deaths are to 
occur within three years.