Actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin were in a federal courtroom here Wednesday for their initial appearance before a judge on felony charges they bribed and cheated to get their daughters admitted to elite colleges. As expected, they said little, did not enter pleas, and were released on bail.
The two “Hollywood defendants,” the most famous of a group of nearly three-dozen parents charged in a wide-ranging college admissions cheating scandal, were in court for separate first appearances before federal Magistrate Judge M. Page Kelley at afternoon hearings that lasted only minutes.
Shortly after 11 a.m., Huffman was spotted arriving at the courthouse where a media scrum had gathered. Dressed in slacks and a double-breasted jacket, she was alone except for her lawyers. She said nothing.
In the courtroom, Huffman responded to a series of yes or no questions from the judge about whether she understood the charges and the terms of her conditions for release. She was not asked to enter a plea and she did not offer one.
She was emotionless as she walked out of the courtroom; she wore over-sized eyeglasses throughout her appearance.
Loughlin arrived just before 2 p.m., and it was a much bigger scene, with scores of fans, reporters and spectators, news drones and helicopters overhead, and many police officers in attendance. Dressed in a tan-peach pantsuit and surrounded by security, she was greeted by loud cheers and screams of “We love you, Lori!”
She got out of a large black van surrounded by her lawyers and bodyguards. Unlike Huffman, she smiled and waved at the fans, some of whom called out to “Aunt Becky” as she walked towards the courthouse door.
At least some detractors were on hand, too: One woman was heard shouting, “Lori, Lori, Lori, pay for my tuition, Lori!” Another pair of women, from Emerson College, held up signs reading, “Lori, pls pay my tuition after you get out of prison (of course).”
Inside, reporters who shared an elevator with her noted she was smiling the whole time but didn’t say anything. Loughlin was still smiling as she walked into the courtroom, seemingly in good spirits.
Also appearing with her: Mossimo Giannulli, Loughlin’s fashion designer husband, who also is charged with paying $500,000 bribes to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California as crew athletes even though neither participated in the sport.
In the courtroom, the couple sat next to each other. When Loughlin’s case was called, she walked to the front of the courtroom straight-faced but calm. When she sat down next to her legal team, she smiled and shook hands with everyone at the table with her.
(Excerpt) Read more in: USA Today