Last month, Josh Duggar was sentenced to 12 and a half years in federal prison for the crimes of receiving and possessing child pornography.
Just one week later, Josh filed an appeal seeking a new trial with the hope of overturning his conviction.
Ever since Josh was convicted back in December, his lawyers have been vowing to appeal.
His initial petition to have his conviction overturned without a trial was, predictably, denied.
In this latest filing, Josh’s lawyers wrote that he “hereby appeals to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit from this Court’s Judgment in a Criminal Case.”
The document went on to say that Duggar “respectfully provides notice of his intent to evaluate and pursue any and all meritorious arguments in his appeal.”
Josh continues to insist on his innocence, and several members of his family have bought into the obvious lie that Josh was framed by the Biden administration.
Obviously, Josh’s lawyers will not attempt to make that ridiculous argument during his second trial.
Instead, they’ll focus on the methods investigators employed while building their case against Josh.
Throughout his first trial, Josh’s legal team attempted to make the case that federal agents violated their client’s civil rights while gathering information about his internet use.
They might also float the idea that the agents were mistaken in their belief that Josh was the perpetrator.
Now, we’ve already seen photos of Josh’s office, and it was clearly only used by one person.
The standalone structure was only large enough for one desk, and there was a digital padlock on the door that would have made it clear if someone had come or gone while Josh was away from the office.
Despite all of that, Josh’s lawyers are expected to argue that the real perpetrator was an employee of Josh’s who used his boss’s computer to download child sexual abuse materials (CSAM).
Obviously, that’s almost as much of a long shot as the Biden defense.
But at this point, Josh doesn’t have many other options.
Many are watching the appeal process with great concern, fearful that Josh might be acquitted.
That’s certainly a possibility, but it’s almost unprecedented in cases with so much ironclad evidence.
The Duggars who are still defending Josh have been silent in the weeks since he was convicted.
(In addition to 12 and a half years behind bars, Josh will be forced to pay $50,000 in fines and undergo 20 years of supervised release after he leaves prison.)
Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard spoke out against Josh in a lengthy statement that was posted on the couple’s personal website.
“Yesterday was another one of those hard days,” the Dillards wrote.
“We are neither rejoicing nor disappointed by the sentence, but we are thankful it’s finally over…”
Cousin Amy Duggar echoed those remarks in an interview with In Touch.
“I honestly don’t think justice can be served a hundred percent for those victims,” Amy told the outlet.
“But I do know — I’ve actually looked up some prison details lately ‘cause [I’m] just trying to get an idea of really what’s gonna be happening to him … And I would be very, very, very fearful if I were him,” she added.
Several Duggar women wrote letters to the judge on Josh’s behalf, requesting a lenient sentence.
Hopefully, the prosecution won’t hesitate to call Jill and Amy as character witnesses if and when Josh’s appeal goes to trial.
As we stated earlier, it’s very, very unlikely that Josh’s conviction will be overturned.
But you can never be too careful when you’re up against pure evil.
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