Todd Chrisley and Julie Chrisley attend the 52nd Academy of Country Music Awards at Toshiba Plaza on April 2, 2017.Photo:Kevin Mazur/ACMA2017/Getty
Kevin Mazur/ACMA2017/Getty
ToddandJulie Chrisley’s attorney is sharing his thoughts about the couple’s future following news that their prison sentenceshad been reduced.Todd 54, and Julie, 50, weresentenced in November 2022to a total of 19 years in prison for bank fraud and tax evasion. Theyreported to prisonon Jan. 17, despite havingappealed the case.
Now, attorney Jay Surgent is addressing the news, telling PEOPLE that he’s hopeful the couple’s sentencing times will be reduced even more.
“They were able to get some time off for both of them,” Surgent says, adding that upcoming legal proceedings on Nov. 1 could trim even more time off. “There’s going to be the adoption of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, changes, modifications, recommendations for reduction of sentences for nonviolent offenders. So [I] don’t know at this point in time, but they should be getting two points a piece for that. So that’ll further reduce their sentences.”
Julie and Todd Chrisley on ‘Chrisley Knows Best’.USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
Surgent says he is working with the Department of Justice on other matters related to the Chrisley couple’s appeal, but declined to specify further.
“There’s hope,” he notes. “There’s always hope, but I feel as though they have a strong appeal.”
Surgentpreviously revealedto PEOPLE in late July that new filings regarding Todd and Julie’s appeal process were submitted at the time.
“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.”
The twosome’s other attorney, Alex Little, also said around in late July onSavannah Chrisley’sUnlockedpodcast that “it’s going to be a hard lift, but in this case, we’ve got, you know,real legitimate substantive argumentsthat we think, you know, if the court takes fairly, has a very good shot of winning.”
Julie Chrisley and Todd Chrisley attend the grand opening of E3 Chophouse Nashville on November 20, 2019.Danielle Del Valle/Getty
Danielle Del Valle/Getty
In the meantime, Todd and Julie’s children have given updates on how they’ve been coping with prison. (Todd is currently serving at Federal Prison Camp Pensacola while Julie is at Federal Medical Center Lexington.)
“They’re hanging in there. It’s a terrible situation,” their sonChase Chrisleyrecently toldExtra. “The conditions [of their prisons] are awful and if you read all these headlines they say the polar opposite, but it is not the truth and we’re going to be spreading a lot of awareness to that as well.”
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But Savannah, 26, saidshe still has “so much hope” for her parentsdespite the hardship they’ve faced.
“I know that they’re going through what they’re going through for us to make a difference, for us to make a change,” she previously said on her podcast. “Because whether this appeal works or not, they’re still coming out with a story.”
source: people.com
