Attorneys for Todd and Julie Chrisley concluded their oral arguments on Friday, April 19. Several members of the Chrisley family were in attendance as the attorneys presented more details of the case. Keep reading to learn more about the claims of misconduct and whether or not Todd and Julie Chrisley have a chance to be released early.
The Chrisleys’ Attorney Presents Oral Arguments
The Chrisleys and their attorneys started the appeals process immediately after the couple was sentenced in November 2022 for fraud and tax evasion. Now, nearly a year and a half later, they have concluded presenting their oral arguments.
Neither Todd nor Julie Chrisley were present in the courtroom for the hearing. However, several members of their family were in the crowd. Savannah Chrisley, Chase Chrisley, Grayson Chrisley, and Nanny Faye Chrisley were all in the Atlanta courtroom on Friday. Savannah’s boyfriend Robert Shriver was also in attendance.
Alex Little made an argument that there was misconduct at play in the case. He said that “the evidence suggested that the prosecutors here worked in concert with the witness.”
“First, the issue that was discussed that came out in the redirect and then the re-cross of Officer Betty Carter was whether the Chrisleys had paid taxes in the post-conspiracy period,” he presented to the court.
Then Little proceeded to say that the district court confirmed that there would be a “potential prejudicial effect on the defendants leading the jury to believe that they had not paid their taxes, that they weren’t interested in paying taxes, that they were untruth type of person who could commit fraud charged in the other acts.” He argued that the effect of that prejudice spilled over to all of the charges in the case.
When it comes to the taxes that the Chrisley Knows Best couple owed, Alex Little argued that they “paid everything before trial.” Additionally, the government is not claiming that the taxes haven’t been paid.
“The IRS didn’t know what they were doing. The left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing,” Little said in the courtroom on Friday. He went on to say that in the IRS system “you can see both taxpayers and you can see that there’s a large sum sitting for Todd Chrisley that has not been applied to the joint return with Julie Chrisley.”
Alex Little continued, saying that Officer Betty Carter neglected to look further into the system.
Todd & Julie Chrisley’s Future Is Still Uncertain
Annalise Peters, a rep of the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, had a different story to tell. She argued that there is no case for appeal at all. “The evidence was overwhelming at trial that the Chrisleys had taken a number of steps to evade the IRS and they conspired to evade the IRS,” she concluded.
Todd and Julie Chrisley initially reported to prison to serve their sentences in January 2023. While their sentences have already been reduced, the family is hoping they will be released altogether soon.
Before the oral arguments were presented in court Savannah Chrisley opened up on her podcast about the situation.
“Once again, like, super grateful for that, that there are other avenues due to how our trial played out that we could take to get a new trial or to you know just hopefully get them out early,” she said on the April 16 episode of her “Unlocked” podcast. “So when it comes to the appeal, that’s kind of where we’re at.”
Right now, there are no details on how the appeals process will play out for Todd and Julie Chrisley.
