Josh Duggar appealing his upcoming sentence “could be difficult,” a legal expert exclusively tells In Touch.
“I would assume there will be an appeal,” former U.S. Attorney David Haas says of Duggar, 34, after he was found guilty of receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography. “However, the specific issues raised on appeal will take time to be heard. The trial court has already heard these issues so a successful appeal could be difficult.”
Haas, who has defended against child porn-related charges, also estimated how long the former 19 Kids & Counting star’s prison sentence could be. “The Federal Sentencing Guidelines will suggest an advisory sentencing range,” the attorney explains. “In most cases, the Guidelines range will be lower than the maximum penalty – in this case, less than 40 years.”
The legal expert spoke to In Touch as Duggar prepares to attend his sentencing hearing. The hearing was originally set to take place on April 5, 2022. However, In Touch confirmed Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s eldest son’s sentencing was rescheduled to May 25 at 9:30 a.m. in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The new date was revealed just five days after Duggar and his attorneys filed a motion to delay the hearing. In documents obtained by In Touch in March, the TLC alum asked for his sentencing to be postponed by “approximately 30 days” in order to “pursue additional information and documentation.” The records also stated that it became “more difficult” for Duggar to “[schedule] meetings” with his defense attorney due to “certain reasonable COVID-19 precautions understandably instituted at the jail.”
Duggar was arrested and taken into custody on April 29, 2021, after a federal grand jury in Arkansas indicted him for “knowingly” receiving illicit images of children under 12 years old. His trial began on November 30, 2021, and concluded on December 9 of that year. Duggar – who shares seven kids with wife Anna Duggar – currently faces up to 40 years in prison, with each count carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years.
In Touch exclusively reported that Anna, 34, “doesn’t consider divorce” from her husband “an option” amid his ongoing legal troubles.
“Some of her relatives want her to, but it goes against everything in her being,” the insider exclusively told In Touch, after clarifying that Anna “has thought about” a legal separation from her husband.
“Obviously, no one would judge her if she did,” the source added. “In fact, there’s been a lot of talk that she should seriously consider it.”
Source: InTouch
