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Muslim Students Want DA Thrown Off UC Irvine Case

SANTA ANA (CBS/AP) — An attorney for one of the eleven Muslim students charged with disrupting a speech by an Israeli official at the University of California, Irvine, says the Orange County district attorney should be removed from the case.

Dan Mayfield, an attorney of one of the students charged in the incident in February, said prosecutors illegally obtained search warrants and focused on his clients' perceived religion by dubbing the case the "UCI Muslim case."

Deputy District Attorney Dan Wagner says the allegations are not grounds to recuse his office.

The students appeared in a Santa Ana court Friday but their arraignment was delayed until April 15.

The students are charged with one count of misdemeanor conspiracy to disturb a meeting and one count of misdemeanor disturbance of a meeting

They were arrested on Feb 8, 2010, after shouting in protest at Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren's speech, forcing him to halt his remarks.

(TM and © Copyright 2010 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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