Josh Duggar’s last-ditch effort to be released from prison was denied, and the disgraced reality star will have to serve out the remainder of his 12-year sentence.
The ’19 Kids And Counting’ star, who was convicted of child pornography charges in May 2022, had his appeal dropped after arguing for a new trial in the case.
Josh Duggar To Serve Remainder Of His Nine-Year Sentence
Duggar’s attorney Justin Gelfand filed an appeal in October 2022, asking the court to overturn the guilty convictions given to his clients and grant them a new trial. However, after a year of deliberations on October 5, the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals denied the request for a new trial.
In Duggar’s appeal, her attorney claims that federal agents seized Duggar’s phone when she tried to call her attorney during the car raid.
“[Duggar] took out his phone, physically put it to his ear… for the purpose of calling his attorney,” the attorney said during a February 16 appeal hearing in Missouri. Adding, “Federal agents physically took the phone from her hand and deprived her of the ability to communicate with her attorney. He was told he was free to go. No reasonable person in his situation at the time would have believed that.”
Mega
However, the prosecution argued that during the raid Duggar was not informed that he was in custody, so he had the right to leave the scene and call his lawyer at any time.
Based on Gelfand’s allegations about the agents blocking his client’s access to his lawyer, the court still ruled that it was insufficient basis for a new trial.
“It is true that the agent read him his Miranda rights, which normally might leave a person with the impression they are in custody,” read an excerpt of the decision obtained by The US Sun. “But when Duggar signed the form admitting his rights, he had the agent ‘scratch out’ the part that said he was ‘under arrest.’
He continued, “The second and third factors also favor the government. Duggar sat in the front passenger seat of the agent’s truck during the interview. They didn’t handcuff him, the door remained unlocked, and he got in and out of the front seat of the vehicle himself.”
Basically, the court argued that Duggar “voluntarily consented” to an interview with agents and was not arrested after questioning, meaning she was not in any way in custody.
It concluded, “We accordingly affirm the judgment of the district court,” the judgment concluded.
Mega
However, Duggar’s legal team didn’t seem to give up when Gelfand filed for an “extension of time in which she can file her petition for a retrial in this case.” Fortunately, it was accepted.
In his petition for a retrial, the attorney argued that Duggar’s employee should not be considered a suspect even though he was the only person who used the laptop used to convict his client.
For now, Duggar will remain in prison, with little hope of an early release.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
