The Parnell brothers want to combine cases for arguments at the Court of Appeal

Within days of each other in 2019, brothers Stewart and Michael Parnell filed separate 2,255 motions to vacate their convictions and sentences, which were handed down in connection with their roles in a nationwide outbreak traced to peanut butter products. Since then, Habeas Corpus motions alleging violations of constitutional rights have been running in parallel.

Until now.

Elliott M. Harding, attorney for Michael Parnell, has filed a motion requesting that his client’s case be consolidated with that of Stewart Parnell for oral arguments.

Stewart Parnell v. United States will argue before a panel of judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta in September.

Harding, an attorney from Charlottesville, VA, said the motion to consolidate “is without objection from opposing counsel or counsel for Mr. Stewart Parnell.”

The motion also asks for a “certificate of appeal” from the final judgment of the District Court, which adopted a report and recommendation but denied his 2255 request.

In May, the appeals court scheduled Stewart Parnell’s case on “Calendar 23” for oral arguments on September 23, 2024. It has not scheduled oral arguments for Michael Parnell, which is why he is asking for the consolidation.

Harding’s motion continues: “To ensure that Mr. Michael Parnell is able to present oral arguments on the merits, and to eliminate the prospect that these materially similar matters will be considered by alternative panels and possible alternative outcomes on the merits, all parties agree agree that it is in the interests of justice and legal economy for Mr Michael Parnell to receive oral arguments, and that such arguments be consolidated with the pending appeal of Mr Stewart Parnell.

Harding is asking for “the opportunity to make a full oral presentation” before Michael Parnell, which will complement that of Stewart Parnell, “should the Court be willing to consolidate these matters.” What he demands is 15 minutes to argue each brother’s case before the appellate judges.

Previously, the closest the Parnell brothers came to consolidating their 2,255 motions was in 2021, when the Middle District of Georgia held back-to-back hearings for them in the same federal courtroom in Albany, GA, where they were convicted by a jury. 2014. The two federal prisoners were able to attend those hearings.

Stewart Parnell, 70, once the chief executive of the now-defunct Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), and Michael Parnell, 65, who was a peanut broker at PCA, are inmates at the federal low-security prison near Durham. NC, known as Butner.

Jury bias and ineffective assistance by legal counsel are likely issues for oral arguments.

In 2008-2009, PCA’s peanut processing plant in Georgia was the source of a multi-state Salmonella outbreak that sickened thousands of people and caused countless deaths. PCA peanut butter and spread subsequently required the recall of thousands of products.

Subsequently, a four-year investigation led by the FBI resulted in criminal charges against several PCA executives and managers, with most of the charges falling on the Parnells.

A jury in Albany, GA, found the brothers guilty of most of the 68 crimes they were charged with on February 15, 2013. Stewart Parnell was convicted of conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, selling misbranded food and introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce.

Stewart Parnell was sentenced to 28 years in prison. Michael Parnell received a 20-year prison sentence. His reduced amount was due to several counts where he was found not guilty.

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