Lori Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, are set to appear in court on Tuesday, Aug. 27 for their alleged role in the college admissions scandal, where they will be questioned by a judge in regards to their choice of legal representation.
Loughlin and her husband were indicted for allegedly paying $500,000 to have their two daughters designated as crew recruits to the University of Southern California despite the fact that neither girl rowed crew. The two were indicted along with around 50 other parents, coaches and exam proctors, a number of whom took plea deals earlier this year.
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Loughlin and Giannulli did not take a deal and are now facing charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. The duo has pleaded not guilty and is facing a maximum of 40 years in prison and is expected to waive their rights to separate attorneys as they are being represented by attorneys from the same law firm.
CBS News reports that a joint defense could prevent the couple’s attorneys from using evidence that could help one if it might harm the other’s case, with a judge set to question Loughlin and Giannulli on potential implications of the decision.
“The concern here is that this law firm cannot zealously represent Loughlin and her husband because they might be pointing fingers at each other,” former federal prosecutor Laurie Levenson explained.
“The benefit for Lori Loughlin and her husband is that there’s strength in having a joint defense,” she continued. “That they’ll stand in unity and say this is an unfair prosecution. The risk in them sticking together in a joint defense is that they both could go down.”
The Hollywood Reporter adds that the firm Loughlin and Giannulli have chosen to represent them recently represented USC, which is an alleged victim in the admissions case. The couple reportedly said that the firm’s work for the university was unrelated to their case and was handled by other lawyers.
One of the 14 people who have so far pleaded guilty is actress Felicity Huffman, who was accused of paying to improve her daughter’s standardized test scores. Prosecutors are recommending that she serve four months in prison and she and the others who have pleaded guilty are scheduled to receive their sentences in two weeks.
Photo Credit: Getty / Paul Archuleta
