Federal Appeals Court Schedules Oral Arguments In Josh Duggar Case

Duggar Family news reveals that a federal appeals court has moved forward with Josh Duggar’s case and has scheduled oral arguments. Read on and we’ll give you the skinny.

Duggar Family News – Federal Court Agrees To Hear Oral Arguments In Josh Duggar’s Case

Duggar Family news reveals that, according to KNWA FOX, a federal court has scheduled a date to hear oral arguments in Josh Duggar’s appeal of his downloading and possessing child pornography conviction.

The 34-year-old former 19 Kids and Counting star was convicted of downloading and possessing child pornography back in 2021 and was ultimately sentenced in May 2022 to 151 months in federal prison to be followed by 20 years of supervised release.

Duggar Family News – Prosecution Says Josh Duggar’s Appeal Uniformly Lacks Merit

Of course, the defense has continued to maintain Duggar’s innocence, as any good defense team is wont to do, and they filed a federal appeal quickly in the wake of the former reality star’s sentencing. As for the prosecution – they said, referencing the appeal, “Duggar’s claims uniformly lack merit”.

On Tuesday, January 17 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in St. Louis schedules a hearing for oral arguments in the case. The date is set for Thursday, February 16.

Duggar Family News – Details For Oral Arguments In Josh Duggar’s Appeal

The hearing is expected to include Judges Lavenski R. Smith, David R. Stras, and Jonathan A. Kobes, according to the court documents. An accompanying schedule indicates that all hearings from February 13-17 will be held at the Charles Evans Whittaker Courthouse in Kansas City, Missouri.

The court stipulated that all attorneys involved must file an oral argument response form. Notice was also given to both sides that “counsel may not waive oral argument without prior leave of court” and adds that only one attorney will be permitted to present the argument for a given party.

Duggar Family News – Defense Claims Josh Duggar’s Rights Were Violated by Federal Court

According to the document, each side will be allotted 20 minutes to present their oral arguments. Duggar’s case is scheduled as the first of the day and set to begin at 9 AM. In the appeal brief, Duggar’s attorneys claim that the district court “violated Duggar’s right to present a complete defense.”

On December 27, 2022, Duggar’s defense team responded to a prosecution brief that stated that Josh’s appeal claims “uniformly lack merit.” The claims allege that the district court “violated Duggar’s right to present a complete defense” in its rulings throughout the trial (via KNWA FOX). Duggar is currently housed at FCI Seagoville outside of Dallas.