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From the moment that Josh Duggar was arrested on child pornography charges back in April, the former reality star’s guilt seemed obvious to pretty much anyone with any familiarity with his case.
But there was a time when it looked as though Duggar’s legal team might win his freedom by poking holes in the tactics used by investigators and manipulating legal loopholes in such a way as to have the case thrown out of court.
Josh was so confident in his lawyers’ abilities that he refused to accept a plea deal offered by the prosecution.
He might be regretting that decision now, as it looks more and more as though justice will be served, and Josh will go to prison for a very, very long time.
As we reported last month, the judge in Josh’s case denied four out of five motions to dismiss evidence at a hearing held on September 27.
Most of these appeals had to do with claims that evidence was improperly gathered or handled.
Until today, the outcome of the fifth motion remained a mystery, but according to a new report from People magazine, Josh has suffered yet another legal setback.
The judge in Josh’s case has now ruled that the prosecution will be allowed to present incriminating video evidence that the defense had petitioned the judge to rule inadmissible.
As with the other motions, Josh’s lawyers argued that investigators had violated their client’s civil rights when they gathered the evidence.
Thankfully, the judge saw through this ruse and decided that the evidence — which sounds as though it might be quite damaging to Josh’s case — will be allowed in court.
“[Duggar] has not shown that federal agents acted with reckless disregard for proper procedure. And he certainly has not shown that the agents acted in bad faith,” the Monday filing states.
“Moreover, Mr. Duggar cannot show that he was prejudiced by any delay; the devices remained in law enforcement’s safe keeping throughout this time period, and the probable cause warranting the initial seizure of the devices remained viable through the date of indictment.”
The deadline for Josh to accept a plea deal was Tuesday, so it seems that he passed on that opportunity with the full knowledge that all five motions had been denied.
If he were to plead guilty now, it would be entered as an “open plea,” meaning that there would be no guarantee of a shorter sentence.
In other words, Josh will almost certainly be taking his chances in court, with his trial set to begin on November 29.
Duggar’s attorneys already had his trial postponed once, but it seems unlikely that the judge will allow them to push the start date back a second time.
Insiders say Josh and several members of his family — including his wife and parents — believe that he will be found not guilty.
Of course, Anna, Michelle, and Jim Bob have probably been suckered into thinking that Josh is legitimately innocent.
Whereas Josh’s confidence is probably derived from the fact that he’s been getting away with monstrous behavior his entire life.
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