Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia M Schnegg

Gregg Reese  |   OW Staff Writer
Mar 31 2011

Charged with 11 murders

 Trial proceedings for alleged “Grim Sleeper” defendant Lonnie David Franklin Jr. accelerated this past Thursday when Superior Court Judge Patricia M. Schnegg unsealed an indictment from the Los Angeles County Grand Jury.

This, in turn, paved the way for Franklin’s arraignment, where he was formally charged with the murders of at least 11 victims, most them young Black women, over a 20-year period, from 1985 to 2007. A twelfth victim survived after being raped and shot in November of 1988.

Mar 24 2011

Lonnie David Franklin Jr.

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A grand jury indictment was unsealed today against the suspected "Grim Sleeper'' serial killer, who is accused of murdering 10 women and trying to kill an 11th victim in a crime spree that stretched over more than two decades.

The indictment, returned Wednesday and unsealed this afternoon by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia M. Schnegg, contains the same charges filed last summer against Lonnie David Franklin Jr.

Feb 22 2011

Same proximity

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A judge today relaxed a restraining order against R&B singer Chris Brown, who completed a yearlong domestic violence counseling program for assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna after a pre-Grammy Awards party nearly two years ago.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia M. Schnegg agreed to modify the order so that Brown and Rihanna can be in the same proximity and even speak to each other, though he continues to be forbidden from annoying or harassing her.

Jan 28 2011

"His conduct had been inexcusable"

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—R&B singer Chris Brown has completed a yearlong domestic violence counseling program required as part of his guilty plea to assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna after a pre-Grammy Awards party nearly two years ago, a judge said today.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia M. Schnegg congratulated the 21-year-old entertainer for finishing the program, telling him that he did it in a "very fine fashion.''

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.