Even as Josh Duggar claims his trial is a rigged witch hunt, his attorneys are preparing his actual defense.
The prosecution has a lot of evidence, including digital records of the heinous illegal material being accessed.
Josh stands little chance of proving that the crime didn’t happen, but could try to argue that he didn’t do it.
Is there any chance that Josh has an actual alibi? The prosecution wants to know.
As we have extensively reported over the past six months, Josh Duggar was arrested this past spring.
He was charged with receiving and possessing photos and videos depicting the sexual abuse of extremely young girls.
Josh entered a plea of not guilty and his trial is set to begin on November 30.
The UK’s The Sun reports that prosecutors have asked the court to require that Josh’s team share details of their defense.
Or rather, one detail in particular.
They want the judge to order Team Josh to provide “any intended alibi defense.”
The prosecution’s request stipulates that “such notice include each specific place where the Defendant claims to have been at the time of the alleged offense.”
The court wants to know where Josh will claim to have been “on or about May 14, 2019 through May 16, 2019.
The timeframe is “between approximately 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM each day.”
Investigators believe that Josh was right there at his computer (and, while downloads took place, nearby) at Wholesale Motors in Tontitown, Arkansas.
Prosecutors are requesting “the name, address, and telephone number of each alibi witness on whom the Defendent intends to rely.”
There’s a little bit of legal speak here, but we can break this down.
Josh would not necessarily have needed to hover over his computer while the illegal downloads took place.
“Whoever” accessed the heinous material would have needed to initialize the download and possibly check on it over time.
Josh’s defense strategy may include claiming that they can prove that he was somewhere else altogether.
If Josh intends to demonstrate that he was not accessing his computer during the download at any point, he’ll need evidence.
It is unlikely that he appeared on camera somewhere for the duration of the period for which he needs an alibi.
But he might ask someone to testify in court that Josh was with them the whole time.
The prosecution will need to prepare for that.
Just as prosecutors turned over discovery to Josh’s team, they want to sift through the defense’s witnesses too.
If someone is going to claim that they are Josh’s alibi witness, prosecutors will need to look into the matter.
The vetting of witnesses on both sides is a standard practice, especially in a high-stakes trial.
Josh is facing many years – potentially – behind bars if he is convicted.
The prosecution wants that to happen. Josh’s high priced legal team does not.
There is a real risk that potential jurors could become overwhelmed by the technological element in this case.
Peer-to-peer file-sharing technology is not that complicated, but as we have warned, Josh’s attorneys hope to bog down the trial with details.
If one juror watched Game of Thrones without an HBO subscription, however, they can probably explain it to the others when it’s time for deliberations.
Source: HollyWood Gossip
