Lori Loughlin’s trial judge has a unique reputation. Here’s what we know

The judge who will oversee the college admissions scandal trial that includes Lori Loughlin has a unique reputation in the Boston federal courthouse.

What’s going on?

• Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, are accused of paying $500,000 in bribes so that their daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose Giannulli, could be crew team recruits for the University of Southern California. The couple pleaded not guilty to both charges.
• In February, the courts set a trial date for Loughlin and Giannulli, which will be on Oct. 5 and include a few other parents.
• The judge overseeing the case will be U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton, who was appointed to his seat in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush.
• According to USA Today: Gorton “has a reputation inside the Boston federal courthouse as a stern, earnest, no-nonsense judge with a record of handing down tougher sentences than others on the bench in the U.S. District of Massachusetts. Tough but fair, most lawyers say.”
• USA Today said: “Not only has he given three of the longest sentences so far for guilty parents — although still much shorter than what prosecutors sought and many in the public covet — he’s candidly let each know he considers their conduct despicable.”

What’s next?

• Loughlin will have a status conference on May 2 at 11 a.m. before Magistrate Judge Kelly and again on July 28 in front of Gorton.