Jul.04, 2010, 07:39:47 PM PDT

San Jose attorney Jamie Harley, known as Jamie Harmon for most of her career, describes herself these days as "embattled defense attorney," even on her Facebook page.

This week, Harley will find out just how embattled she may be. The 53-year-old local criminal-defense lawyer goes on trial in San Jose federal court, where she faces money laundering charges that could end her legal career and land her in a federal prison cell if convicted.

A federal grand jury indicted Harley two years ago, accusing her of laundering more than $100,000 for a client who was trafficking in stolen computer equipment. The client, Christian Pantages, pleaded guilty this spring to two felony charges in the case and has agreed to cooperate as a government witness when the trial begins to unfold on Tuesday before U.S. District Judge James Ware.

Since being indicted, Harley has changed her name from Harmon and renamed her law practice, which has continued with the charges pending. She declined to comment on the trial, and her lawyer, Victor Vertner, did not return a phone message seeking comment.

Harley has been a controversial figure in local legal circles for years. A Mercury News series in 2006 found that she'd been cited three times by judges for providing incorrect legal advice. In May, a state Bar court disciplined her for nine counts of misconduct involving six clients, but limited the punishment to six months suspension from practicing law because

of her "good character." The suspension has not yet been enforced, allowing Harley to recently represent San Jose swim coach Andrew King in his molestation case.

Meanwhile, federal prosecutors also declined to comment.

But court papers filed by both sides reveal the different accounts the jury is likely to hear in Harley's trial.

The prosecution's case dates back seven years, to Harley's representation of Pantages and his business, Silicon Valley Resale. The prosecution also traces it to a later fallout in a civil case Pantages filed in 2004 against Harley over her handling of the legal fees in state criminal proceedings linked to the computer theft operation.

Federal prosecutors allege that Harley funneled $127,550 Pantages earned from selling stolen Cisco equipment into her attorney-client trust account, and then turned around and wrote checks back to Pantages and his wife despite knowing the money was from peddling stolen technology. Court papers say Harley kept about $25,000 for her representation, and returned the rest to the couple.

Based on court papers, the crux of Harley's defense is that she did not know the money was from stolen Cisco equipment, and that she merely returned the money as the case unfolded and determined it was not needed for a trial on state criminal charges against Pantages.

"It is the defense's position that at no time did Ms. Harmon know the two checks were proceeds of stolen property," Harley's lawyer wrote in December.

The trial is expected to take about two weeks.