Josh Duggar Demands Rehearing to Plead His Case For New Trial Weeks After Appellate Court Upheld Child Pornography Conviction
Josh Duggar and his legal team aren't giving up without a fight.
Josh Duggar isn't giving up without a fight in his efforts to overturn his child pornography conviction — weeks after a federal appeals court denied his plea for a new trial, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In a court filing submitted on Tuesday, Duggar and his legal team demanded a rehearing in his appeal in hopes of overturning his 12.5-year prison sentence after being found guilty of receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography in December 2021.
The disgraced TLC personality is seeking a rehearing of his appeal.
The disgraced Counting On alum has been serving his time at FCI Seagoville in Texas after being transferred from Washington County Jail in his home state of Arkansas.
Duggar made his argument based on what happened after he claimed to be taken into custody a year and a half before the arrest.
His lawyer previously argued that federal agents allegedly seized his phone when he tried to contact his attorney during a raid at his car lot.
However, RadarOnline.com is told, "There hasn't been a unit shakedown in a while."
The appeals panel, however, stated in their ruling that Duggar wasn't arrested. "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.
In the fresh docs obtained by RadarOnline.com, Duggar and his lawyer claimed the lower district court followed by the appellate court made the wrong decision when they denied his right to a new trial.
Court docs were submitted on September 5.
"But when determining whether Duggar was in custody when he invoked his right to counsel — by attempting to call his lawyer while surrounded by federal agents who physically removed the phone from his hand — the panel decision incorrectly focuses solely on what transpired several minutes later and disregards what happened at the time Duggar invoked his right to counsel," his lawyer wrote in response to the appellate court's initial decision. Without a Crystal Ball was first to report on his request for a rehearing.
"Because a reasonable person in Duggar's position at the time he attempted to contact his lawyer 'would consider his freedom of movement restricted,' consideration by the full Court is necessary to secure and maintain uniformity of the Court's decisions," the docs further stated.
Duggar continues to maintain his innocence.
Duggar's lawyer said they also planned to raise questions about certain evidence not allowed in the initial trial.
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"When a district court repeatedly relies on an unconstitutional evidentiary rule to preclude a defendant from introducing alternative-perpetrator evidence, has the defendant been deprived of his constitutional right to present a complete defense?" the filing stated. "Can a defendant who unequivocally invokes his right to counsel while surrounded by federal agents be subsequently interrogated without counsel present?"
Prosecutors have yet to respond.
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