Legal News

Hollywood?s Perry Mason Pleads Not Guilty in Campaign Contribution Case

By Dan Slater

Plaintiffs’ attorney Pierce O’Donnell listens to testimony in a San Diego court in 2005. O’Donnell represented consumers in the class action lawsuit against Sempra Energy and its two utilities. Photo: AP

Pierce O’Donnell, the L.A. trial lawyer who’s been called Hollywood’s Perry Mason, pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges that he reimbursed employees of his law firm, and others, who gave $26,000 in campaign contributions to a committee supporting a presidential candidate, believed to be John Edwards.

A trial date was set for Oct. 21. Here’s the NLJ’s report.

According to reports, the government alleges that O’Donnell caused 13 illegal campaign contributions to be made when 13 people made “donations” to the campaign in 2003 that O’Donnell reimbursed. The third count in the indictment accuses O’Donnell of causing the campaign to make false statements to the Federal Elections Commission by concealing the true nature of the contributions that he reimbursed. He could face up to 12 years in federal prison.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on August 27, 2008 (boomark / email).