On October 18, Jackeline Lopez will appear in court to answer charges related to her practice of witchcraft. This court appearance is not in Salem, Massachusetts, but in L.A.'s own Antelope Valley, at the Michael D. Antonovich Courthouse in Lancaster. Ask any L.A. resident to guess which section of the county a witchcraft-related charge comes from, and the Antelope Valley would probably be their first guess -- or certainly in their top three -- but this case is not your typical Lancaster Witch Trial. Instead, the accusation is that Lopez posed as a witch for the purpose of extorting $10,000 in jewelry.
According to the L.A. County Sheriff, the crime began in August, when a 12-year-old girl started hanging out with a new friend from school along with that new friend's mother, Lopez, who is a self-proclaimed psychic. Lopez's garage, Sheriffs say, was "decorated" with candles, replicas of human skulls, cauldrons, and other staples of witchcraft décor, though there was no mention of broomsticks, cobweb-draped candelabra, or black housecats.
Sheriffs allege that Lopez schemed to have her daughter's new 12 year-old friend steal jewelry from her own family, by telling her the jewelry was necessary for a ritual that would lift a curse from the 12-year-old's family. When the curse could not be lifted by placing the jewelry in one of the cauldrons and chanting the de-cursing spell, Lopez allegedly told the girl more jewelry was needed. Though they did not state this, it is presumed that the Sheriffs are alleging that the 12 year-old's family was not actually cursed, and that the jewelry was not in fact necessary to lift the curse.
In other words, Lopez could defend these charges by claiming to be an actual witch.
How that defense might be proven is a matter for Lopez and her attorney to figure out, but one pictures a courtroom scene in which the Judge's gavel suddenly starts banging by itself, or the lights in the courtroom suddenly turn into rapid-fire strobes when one of the cops is testifying. Then, at the close of evidence, there is power failure and when the lights return, the Judge is shocked when he looks down to see he is now wearing the courtroom Sheriff Deputy's uniform, and the court reporter is wearing the Judge's black robe. Everyone's eyes then turn to the Deputy, who blushes when he realizes he's now sporting the court reporter's miniskirt.
Or something like that.
It would seem that this case is a perfect analogue to the psychics who advertise on TV and charge money to communicate with the dead or, in other cases, simply charge an appearance fee to go on "Dr. Phil" and field questions from a mesmerized audience. These sorts of psychics are never prosecuted, which will be essential for the defense to point out. If handled correctly, this could force the prosecution into the difficult position of drawing the distinction between Lopez and these "pop-psychics" who are allowed to run rampant in our culture.
Or perhaps the case will never go to trial because the prosecution will agree to a plea bargain in which Lopez gets probation . . . in return for her promise to lift the curse from the whole Antelope Valley itself.
