Josh Duggar's Appeal Officially Terminated, Disgraced Reality Star Will Remain in Prison
Josh Duggar's May 2022 conviction will not be overturned.
Oct. 10 2023, Published 7:54 p.m. ET
Prison cell doors slammed shut on Josh Duggar. The disgraced reality TV star's appeal case has officially been terminated by the court, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The court mandate followed a relentless pursuit from Duggar's legal team to overturn the guilty verdict in his child pornography case.
Duggar, 35, was sentenced to 151 months in prison in May 2022 after he was found guilty of receiving and possessing child pornography in December 2021.
Josh Duggar tried to overturn his conviction on several occassions since being sentenced in May 2022.
The appellate court issued a mandate in Duggar's case on October 5, which upheld the lower court's conviction.
"Upon issuance of the mandate, the jurisdiction of the court of appeals over the case terminates, and the district court acquires jurisdiction to implement the mandate," stated the Court of Appeals on the ruling.
The lower court was then notified of the mandate, squashing any hopes of a new trial for Duggar.
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The father-of-seven will remain behind bars until his scheduled release in 2032.
This is not the first time Duggar's demands to overturn his conviction were shut down.
As RadarOnline.com reported, Duggar's attorney, Justin Gelfand, filed his latest motion demanding a rehearing of his client's appeal in early September, weeks after the appellate court upheld the lower court's conviction.
Before filing the rehearing request, Gelfand attempted to appeal his client's conviction and argued for a new trial by accusing federal agents of wrongdoing during an incident a year and a half before the Counting On alum's arrest.
Duggar's attorney accused federal agents of wrongdoing in his appeal.
Back in October 2022, Gelfand argued before an appellate court that federal agents allegedly seized the reality star's phone while he was trying to contact legal counsel during a raid at a car lot.
Despite the attorney's efforts, the appellate panel was not persuaded and denied the argument because Duggar was not arrested by the federal agents during the raid.
"To the contrary, he ended the interview on his own and then left the dealership – hardly an option available to someone in custody," the court ruled. "We accordingly affirm the judgment of the district court."
Duggar still has 9 years remaining out of his 12.5 year sentence.
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Following the ruling, Duggar's attorney fired back and claimed both the appellate court and lower courts made a mistake when denying the 35-year-old a new trial. Gelfand filed his motion for an "extension of time within which he may file his petition for rehearing in this case."
Duggar's attorney argued for a rehearing of the appeal by claiming the district court "prevented Duggar from introducing alternative-perpetrator evidence, explaining at sidebar when Duggar sought to call a witness to the stand."
Gelfand also rehashed his previously unsuccessful arguments against the federal agents and Duggar's employee, Caleb Williams, all of which were denied by the appellate court.
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