Oct. 20, 2009 (United Press International) -- Lawyers for Columbia Farms, a South Carolina poultry company, say deported former employees might have helped the company's defense in an immigration case.

More than 300 people were deported after a raid a year ago on the company's plant in Greenville, S.C. The company and two of its executives were charged with knowingly employing illegal immigrants.

Lawyers filed a motion recently saying they were not given a chance to interview the workers before the workers were deported, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer reported Tuesday. The lawyers said the employees might have provided "favorable and material testimony" for the defense.

The lawyers told the Observer the government would not have been so quick to get workers out of the country if they thought their testimony would be helpful to the prosecution.

Similar arguments have been made in cases involving Nebraska Beef and Tyson Foods. (NYSE:TSN) A court dismissed charges against Nebraska Beef in 2002, but another court upheld charges the same year against Tyson, although the company won at trial.