Todd and Julie Chrisley's Attorney Argues Why 'Evidence' Suggests There Was Misconduct in the Couple's Case

On April 19, the longtime couple's family attended an oral argument session, where their attorneys presented their case before an appellate court in Atlanta

Todd and Julie Chrisley's oral arguments have concluded.

Attorneys for the longtime couple presented their case at the Elbert P. Tuttle U.S. Court of Appeals Building in Atlanta on Friday, April 19. The hearing comes more than a year after Todd, 55, and Julie, 51, were sentenced in November 2022 for fraud and tax evasion.

The two Chrisley Knows Best alum were not in attendance for the hearing. However, their family members Savannah Chrisley, Chase Chrisley, Grayson Chrisley and Nanny Faye Chrisley were present in court. Savannah's boyfriend Robert Shiver was also there to support the family.

Alex Little, a partner at Burr and Forman LLP, argued that misconduct was at play in the pair's case, claiming that "the evidence suggested that the prosecutors here worked in concert with the witness."

Related: Savannah Chrisley Says Replaying the 'Image of My Parents Coming Home' Helps 'Motivate' Her

"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 said. "Now, the district court below confirmed that that would have 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. That effect spills over not just to the tax charges but to all of the fraud charges in this case."

Regarding taxes owed, Little argued that his clients "paid everything before trial" and "the government doesn't argue that they hadn't paid."

"The IRS didn't know what they were doing. The left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing," Little claimed. "In the system, if you had looked, .... 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."

"If she [Officer Betty Carter] looked at that, she would've seen that those two would've extinguished each other," he continued. "And, if the IRS had properly applied it, they would not then be what Betty Carter says, there would be interest and penalties. She would know those interest and penalties would not be due because that payment was made years before with respect to that payment."

However, the rebuttal presented by Annalise Peters — a representative of the United States Attorneys'​ Offices — argued there is no case at all, noting that "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."

"So yes, if there are credible allegations and some evidence proffered about any sort of government misconduct a hearing should be had. That's simply not what we have in this case," she said.

Peters noted that "the court did give a limiting instruction in this case and all of the record shows that the jury, in fact, was able to follow the court's instructions and consider the evidence as to each defendant."

Related: Savannah Chrisley Reveals the Encouraging Advice She Gave Imprisoned Parents Before Oral Arguments: They 'Have No Faith'

Looking to the Chrisley's former accountant Peter Tarantino, who was sentenced to three years in prison followed by three years of supervised release, Peters said that "the presumption, of course, is that co-conspirators should be tried together and the defendant [Little] has not met his burden of showing any actual compelling prejudice that results from this."

Don Samuel, the attorney for Tarantino, was also present to argue "whether the trial court erred in refusing to sever the defendants in light of the prejudice that was suffered" by his client from "being jointly tried" with the Chrisleys. Suggesting that his client "suffered prejudice not just from the quantity of evidence that was presented against the co-defendants but also the quality of evidence," Samuel argued what Tarantino's actual duties were, noting that he "didn't have a duty to ensure that all taxes were paid" and he wasn't "complicit in the crime committed" by the Chrisleys.

As Little spoke one final time before the roughly 30-minute hearing concluded, he suggested that "what the government just told [the judge] isn't true" and noted that "it's not in the record." The judge then asked more "specifically" what the attorney was "relying on" as "evidence" that "there was some kind of conspiracy between the prosecution and the agent."

"The only reason the District Court thinks they didn't know back then is because there's a presumption that the government is telling the truth. There is nothing in the records that supports that," he said.

Related: Savannah Chrisley Says It's 'Tough' Knowing Things May 'Not Go in Our Direction' After Parents' Oral Arguments

Todd, 55, and Julie, 51, were originally sentenced to a combined 19 years in prison. Though they began appealing their case the following month, they reported to prison in January 2023. Their sentences were reduced that September by roughly two years.

Hope came in November 2023 as Savannah, 26, revealed her parents were granted oral arguments, which "only about 6 percent of cases that are submitted for oral arguments get accepted."

"We get to go and argue why mom and dad should be home," she added. "So, God is good. Thanksgiving win!"

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Days before the oral arguments commenced, Savannah shared her uncertainty about whether things would go in her family's favor. However, she noted that "if it doesn't go in our direction, we have other avenues to take."

"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 shared on the April 16 episode of her Unlocked podcast. "So when it comes to the appeal, that's kind of where we're at."

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