Lori Loughlin spends holidays prepping for next big role: Testifying at her own trial – The Mercury News

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When her daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella, were younger, Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli loved to give them a white Christmas by packing the family up and flying — presumably by private jet — to Colorado so they could all play in the snow and ski.

More recently, though, the Giannulli family has stayed in Los Angeles in their Bel Air mansion, as the former Hallmark Channel star told Parade magazine in 2017. But Loughlin said they still enjoyed other holiday traditions: picking out a tree and decorating it. She said she and her fashion-savvy, social media influencer daughters also loved to go shopping.

“It’s really about getting together with family,” Loughlin said.

This year, the former “Full House” star and her family again will be in Los Angeles, but things will be far less jolly. That’s because Loughlin, 55, is facing the possibility of years in prison for her alleged role in the college admissions scandal and has been hunkering down in rooms with lawyers to prepare her defense, Us Weekly is reporting in its new issue.

The actress best known as wholesome Aunt Becky is participating in “grueling” mock trials, essentially rehearsals for what could be the biggest, most consequential performance of her life: Defending herself in federal court against bribery, fraud and money laundering charges.

According to Us Weekly, Loughlin, 55, is “adamant” that she wants to testify, even though it’s never a requirement for defendants to take the stand and defense attorneys often advise against it.

“Lori has no choice at this point but to take this to trial and hope for an acquittal or a hung jury,” a source told Us Weekly.

Loughlin apparently believes she can convince a jury that she’s a sympathetic figure, another insider said. She and her husband are charged with paying $500,000 in bribes to get Olivia Jade, 20, and Isabella, 21, fraudulently admitted to the University of Southern California.

Perhaps the veteran TV actress and media personality hopes she can use her star power and comfort in the spotlight to present herself as a loving mom who thought she was doing right by her daughters. Loughlin and her fashion designer husband also are expected to argue that they were duped into engaging in a bribery scheme concocted by college admissions consultant William “Rick” Singer.

“She feels they’ll believe that the accusations against her don’t merit criminal prosecution, that she truly thought she was making a legal contribution to charity,” the insider told Us Weekly.

Loughlin and Giannualli reportedly will argue that they believed the money they paid to Singer and to his alleged accomplices at USC were legitimate donations to Singer’s education nonprofit and to the school’s athletic programs.

“Mossimo strongly believes they were victims of a con and did nothing wrong,” an insider previously told Us Weekly.

But as much as Loughlin and Giannulli agree on some issues related to their joint, “united front” defense, they disagree on others. That includes Loughlin’s reported earlier desire to strike a plea deal with prosecutors. Now, Loughlin wants to testify, and her husband doesn’t think it’s a good idea at all, Us Weekly reported.

“Mossimo doesn’t want to testify, but will be forced to if Lori does,” the insider told the outlet.

Another worry for the couple is that Olivia Jade and Isabella may be called as prosecution witnesses to testify against their parents. The indictment alleges that Olivia Jade and Isabella participated in the bribery scheme by posing for photos on rowing machines. The photos were used for fake athletic profiles that Singer and his accomplices created in order to present the sisters to admissions officers as crew team recruits.

The prospect of Olivia Jade and Isabella testifying terrifies Loughlin, Us Weekly reported.

“Lori’s bereft when she talks about the girls being forced to testify at their trial,” the insider said. “She doesn’t understand how it got to this point.”

Legal experts say that the decision to testify is always up to a defendant. Of course, defendants don’t have to testify, and juries are instructed to not hold it against them when they don’t take the stand.

“There are so many risks to testifying that every attorney worth his salt thinks long and hard about recommending it,” according to a post on AbovetheLaw.com. “No matter what the prosecutor’s evidence, if a defendant testifies that is what will determine the verdict.”

When a defendant testifies, she loses her right to remain silent. It also shifts the burden of proof, which normally is on the prosecution, the legal site said in its post. After a defendant testifies, juries must now look at two “stories” of the case.

“Whether the prosecution made its case or not, if they don’t like how the defendant came off, either because they don’t believe him or just don’t like him, they’ll generally convict,” the post said.

Defense attorneys may see an advantage to putting certain defendants on the stand, notably professional, educated defendants in white-collar cases who have no prior criminal history, the New York Times said. Attorneys may believe they can adequately prepare these defendants to put their cases in the best light.

“The problem in calling the defendant to testify is the second act: cross-examination,” the New York Times said. “Prosecutors often can hardly contain themselves at the thought of getting a shot at the defendant.”

The prosecutor’s strategy usually involves making the defendant uncomfortable and forcing her to respond to questions she may not want to answer, which puts her credibility on the line, the Times added.

For an attorney to decide whether to put a client on the stand, “it comes down to figuring out how well the defendant can perform on the witness stand, particularly cross-examination, as measured against the strength of the government’s case.”

If it’s a matter of “performing,” Loughlin may have an advantage, since performing in TV and in films has been her livelihood for several decades.

In that sense, Loughlin has begun to treat her trial preparation like a “full-time job,” doing the mock trials, meeting with her lawyers or discussing strategy over email,” Us Weekly reported.

Still, the actress also realizes that this could be her last Christmas at home, if the trial doesn’t go her way. For that reason, Loughlin also is trying to spend as much time with her husband and daughters as possible, Us Weekly said. After all, she also once said, “It’s important to make the effort to see your family around the holidays.”