The remote hearings forced by the pandemic made the impact on the public even greater, he added, citing Loughlin’s guilty plea by Zoom, to which Lelling said he realized some 500 people had logged on.
“There were people in bed, people walking their pets, people eating Doritos,” he said. “It was a slice of America, and they were all clicking in on Lori Loughlin’s plea hearing as if they’re watching regular TV. It was an easy way to see that the system works.”
Lelling is clear-eyed about the limits of his most famous case. He hasn’t removed the fundamental—and perfectly legal—advantages of wealth and privilege from the system, and overall he doesn’t think he’s changed what he sees as parents’ obsession with colleges as brands.
“There will be some trials, and then the case will eventually fade from people’s memory,” Lelling said. “So many upper- and middle-class parents are consumed by the name on the door. They really care whether it’s Cornell or Michigan or whatever, as if this is going to have a lasting impact on their child’s happiness and achievement. It’s just too bad that the system has gotten that far out of whack.”
The case is U.S. v. Colburn et al., 19-cr-10080, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts (Boston).
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.