Former reality star Josh Duggar’s team of lawyers is fighting a piece of controversial evidence on his child pornography case. Specifically, his lawyers are pushing back against a photograph of Duggar taken soon after his April arrest that the prosecution intends to use against him in court. According to leaked court documents, the photo in question connects Duggar to some of the photos the feds took from his computer, which could prove troublesome to the 19 Kids And Counting star.
Josh Duggar’s Lawyers Push Back Against Jail Photos
Following his arrest, Josh Duggar allegedly posed for photographs that his defense team is now pushing back against. According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline, Duggar’s attorney is asking for photographs taken of his client’s hands and feet from “atypical angles” while in jail not be allowed as evidence against him.
Prosecutors apparently intend to argue that these jail photos show a scar on Duggar’s hand that link him to photos taken from his laptop. “Law enforcement observed the same scar in images recovered from the defendant’s electronic devices seized pursuant to a search warrant in this case,” lawyers for the government explained.
The disgraced reality star’s team argue that the only photo allowed to be taken without a warrant is a mug shot, with his lawyer writing, “What is particularly egregious about HSI’s conduct in this capacity is that Duggar’s body parts were manipulated, and he was required to pose for the photographs.”
Prosecution Begs To Differ
Prosecutors have pushed back against these claims, insisting that a member of Homeland Security asked Duggar to take the photos and that he consented. “At no time during this process did the special agent or any other law enforcement officers involved in the processing of the defendant raise their voice at him, intimidate him, or verbally or physically threaten him,” the prosecution argued in the documents.
Furthermore, the prosecution continued, “Law enforcement’s photographing of the defendant’s hands did not constitute an unreasonable or warrantless search of the defendant.” They went on to argue that this wasn’t a case of asking the defendant to remove an article of clothing in order for officers to photograph a part of his body that would otherwise be covered. “As made clear by the photographs included in the defendant’s motion, his hands were in plain view and clearly visible.”
Josh Duggar’s trial is expected to take place in November. As the case is still ongoing, we will be checking back in with new updates as they become available.