Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli will plead guilty to their involvement in the college admissions scandal Friday morning, and you have a front row seat to the latest chapter in the months-long saga. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, neither Loughlin nor Giannulli will physically appear in court, the hearing instead scheduled to take place at 11:30 a.m. ET via Zoom, the video conferencing app that has become all the rage during lockdown. To watch, all you have to do is sign up through the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
To sign up, first click the link here, which will direct you to a “Request for Courtroom Seating/Remote Access” form. You will be required to enter select information, including your name, the date, and your Zoom display name, as well as telephone number should you wish to only have audio access. Participants will then be sent either a link to join the Zoom video or a number to call in on, depending on whether they selected video or audio access.
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The request form notes that those seeking video access “will be placed into a Zoom waiting room to start” and that “your Zoom display name must read exactly as provided above.” Access will not be granted to those whose Zoom display name does not match what they had provided. It also notes that if you are only seeking audio access, “the telephone number you call in on must be the same number you have submitted to us above.” It adds that “any individuals who attempt to disrupt the hearing will be removed.”
It is also important to note that photographing, recording, and broadcasting the proceeding is prohibited, “except as specifically provided in these rules or by order of the court.” Providing your access information to the video conference to others, whether it be forwarding it or distributing it through other means, is also prohibited.
During the hearing, Loughlin is expected to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Meanwhile, Giannulli will plead guilty to enter a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud as well as honest services wire and mail fraud. The guilty pleas are part of a plea deal reached and announced Thursday that will see both Loughlin and her husband serving time behind bars. Their sentences of two and five months prison time, however, are subject to a judge’s approval.
