Rand Schrader

Rand Schrader
Rand Schrader
Judge of the Los Angeles Municipal Court
	In office; 1980 – April 1993
Appointed by	Jerry Brown
Personal details
Born	May 11, 1945; Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	June 13, 1993 (aged 48); Century City, California, U.S.
Domestic partner	David Bohnett
Alma mater	University of California, Berkeley; UCLA School of Law

Rand Schrader (May 11, 1945 – June 13, 1993) was an American AIDS and gay rights activist who also served as a judge of the Los Angeles Municipal Court.

Early life and education

Schrader was born in Los Angeles, California.^[1] He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and then from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 1973.^[2]

Professional career and judicial service

After graduating from law school, Schrader was hired by Los Angeles City Attorney Burt Pines.^[1] He was the first openly gay staffer to work in the Los Angeles City Attorney's office.^[2]

In 1980, Schrader was appointed to the Los Angeles Municipal Court by Governor Jerry Brown.^[1] Schrader was recommended to Brown by gay rights activist Sheldon Andelson.^[2] Schrader served on the bench until April 1993.^[1]

AIDS-related advocacy and death

Los Angeles County Supervisor Ed Edelman appointed Schrader to the Los Angeles County AIDS Commission when it was established in 1987.^[2] Schrader served as chairman of the commission from 1989 to 1991.^[2]

In 1991, Schrader announced that he had been recently diagnosed with AIDS.^[2] He disclosed that he had tested positive for HIV in 1989 and had developed pneumocystis pneumonia in October 1991.^[2] Schrader went public with his diagnosis in an attempt increase AIDS awareness and to combat discrimination and misinformation associated with AIDS.^[2]

Schrader died from AIDS-related complications on June 13, 1993, in Century City, California.^[1]

Shortly before his death, in May 1993, the 5P21 HIV/AIDS clinic at Los Angeles County – USC Medical Center was named in honor of him.^[3] Schrader had previously advocated for the establishment of the clinic.^[1]^[3]

Personal

Schrader's long-time partner was entrepreneur David Bohnett, who after Schrader's death used his own entire life savings and the $386,000 benefits from Schrader's life insurance to create the pioneering website GeoCities.^[4] At the time of Schrader's death, they had been partnered for 10 years.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Obituaries: Rand Schrader, Judge And Gay Advocate, 48, The New York Times (June 15, 1993).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Tracy Wilkinson, Municipal Court Judge Faces Challenge of AIDS - Disease Archived 2011-08-13 at the Wayback Machine, The Los Angeles Times (November 25, 1991).
^ ^a ^b Los Angeles Clinic Named for AIDS Activist Rand Schrader, The Los Angeles Times (May 15, 1993).
^ ^a ^b Michael Kearns, Out on the Web Archived 2011-06-15 at the Wayback Machine, LA Weekly (November 24, 1999).

External links

[nytimes_19930615-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Obituaries: Rand Schrader, Judge And Gay Advocate, 48, The New York Times (June 15, 1993).

[latimes_19911125-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Tracy Wilkinson, Municipal Court Judge Faces Challenge of AIDS - Disease Archived 2011-08-13 at the Wayback Machine, The Los Angeles Times (November 25, 1991).

[latimes_19930515-3] Los Angeles Clinic Named for AIDS Activist Rand Schrader, The Los Angeles Times (May 15, 1993).

[laweekly_19991124-4] Michael Kearns, Out on the Web Archived 2011-06-15 at the Wayback Machine, LA Weekly (November 24, 1999).

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