O’Donnell of O’Donnell & Associates in Los Angeles was indicted on charges that he reimbursed 13 employees of his law firm and others who had contributed $26,000 in 2003 to the presidential campaign of former U.S. Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C. See The American Lawyer‘s article, “ The Trials of Pierce O’Donnell.”
Last year, a federal judge dismissed two of the three counts against him, prompting the federal government to petition the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. The U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC) and several good-government groups filed amicus briefs blasting the lower court’s decision as “novel” and “unprecedented.”
