Could Josh Duggar’s Conviction Be Overturned Like Weinstein?
19 Kids and Counting alum, Josh Duggar went to prison for CSAM offenses, and evidence of his molestation of his sisters was allowed in court. Harvey Weinstein had his rape conviction overturned because the court allowed people to testify about his bad behavior and they were not part of the charges. He will now have a new trial. Will that help the TLC alum get his conviction overturned as well?
Josh Duggar Trial Heard Testimony By Bobye Holt
During his trial, the former 19 Kids and Counting star listened as Bobye Holt related how he confessed to the molestation when he was a younger teen. Of course, the defense objected to that information being presented in a case relating to abusive videos of children. However, it was used to present a motive for his crimes using his computer.
Harvey Weinstein was convicted on charges of rape in both California and New York. In his case, other people not directly involved in the crime, a bit like Bobye Holt, also testified to bad behavior. AP reported that “The court found the trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against Weinstein based on allegations that weren’t part of the case.” While he remains in prison for the California crime, he’s been exonerated in New York because of “an abuse of judicial discretion.”
Can The 19 Kids & Counting Alum Also Get His Conviction Overturned?
On Reddit, a TLC fan asked about the Harvey Weinstein case and how it might impact Josh Duggar. Citing the news, they asked:
Could Pest’s conviction be overturned like Harvey Weinstein’s? (Prior bad acts testimony)…Unlike the Weinstein case, the prosecution in Pest’s case had far more concrete evidence that he himself had procured the CSAM and possessed it. The Holt testimony may have been the nail in his coffin, and contributed to a longer sentence, but I think the jury would have convicted anyway.
Fortunately, a member of the TLC forum works as a lawyer, and they claimed that it’s unlikely to impact Josh. They explained how the appeals work.
No. You get one bite at the apple to appeal and you don’t get to keep refiling because you thought up a new basis for appeal. Also, the Bobye Holt testimony wasn’t admitted for the purpose of showing prior bad acts as propensity evidence. It was used as evidence of motive to show that he had a history of being sexually inappropriate with minors and have an interest and motive to access CSAM.
The legal eagle explained that “character evidence” cannot prove a person did a “bad thing” because they previously behaved badly. However, it may assist with establishing “motive, plan, intent, etc.” Actually, it only serves “a limited purpose” on admissibility.
For now, it seems that the Harvey Weinstein case makes no difference in the outcome for Josh Duggar. Shout out your thoughts in the comments below, and come back here for all your 19 Kids and Counting news.
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