Todd and Julie Chrisley were convicted of tax evasion and bank fraud in June 2022. The former Chrisley Knows Best stars have long maintained their innocence and started their appeals process before reporting to prison in January 2023. Their daughter, Savannah Chrisley, is caring for her younger brother Grayson and niece Chloe while her parents are behind bars.
Todd and Julie are now represented by Jay Surgent, who is a partner at Weiner Law Group, LLP. He is the right man for the job because he specializes in white-collar crime. He opened up to People magazine about the next steps in the appeals process.
Jay confirmed Julie and Todd’s legal team "did our final filings" last week. He cannot predict what will come next, but broke down the possible outcomes. "The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals can reverse the District Court, or they could remand the case back for hearings that should have been held that were not held during the course of this trial," he explained. "We argued very vigorously that their constitutional rights have been violated, and that they basically were not given a fair hearing. It's all in black and white, actually."
Beyond their constitutional rights, Jay wants his clients out of prison because of their alleged horrible living conditions. He claims they are "living in squalor in 100-degree temperatures because of what the governor has decided to do to them." He is appalled by the “absolutely ridiculous situation.” He believes his clients deserve better and not because of their celebrity status.
"What we're saying is that they, along with other inmates, deserve better treatment,” he explains. “We shouldn't be treating our prisoners the way we're treating our prisoners at this point in time."
More from LittleThings: Savannah Chrisley Opens About How Mom Julie Is Really Doing in Prison: 'She's Scared'
Savannah vowed on her Unlocked podcast that the whole family and legal team are "doing everything that we possibly can to fight this appeal." They won’t go down without a fight. "I don't care if I have to take this to the Supreme Court," she explained. "There is no quitting that's happening. We have a great team of people behind us that I'm so blessed and grateful for."
