On February 22, convicted sex offender and former basic cable reality television personality Josh Duggar filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of the United States.
The 39-page Petition for a Writ of Certiorari began by presenting the following question:
“Does the exclusion of relevant evidence of an alternative perpetrator based on a trial court’s conclusion it is too speculative violate a criminal defendant’s constitutional right to present a complete defense?”
The filing revealed that Supreme Court Justice Brett Cavanaugh granted “a timely application to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari” on December 15, 2023, extending the deadline to file this petition until February 25.
The filing’s introduction began by citing actions the Supreme Court made over half a century ago.
“More than 50 years ago, this Court explained, ‘The right to offer the testimony of witnesses, and to compel their attendance, if necessary, is in plain terms the right to present a defense, the right to present the defendant’s version of the facts as well as the prosecution’s to the jury so it may decide where the truth lies,’” the petition stated, citing a case from 1967.
“But that right rings hollow when a defendant seeks to introduce evidence that someone else committed the crime for which he is on trial, but the trial court prevents the jury from hearing it because the judge— not the jury—concludes the alternative perpetrator evidence is relevant but too speculative,” it added.
Returning to its “alternate perpetrator” theory, the defense filing then drew attention to former Duggar employee Caleb Williams, whom it said the state “failed to meaningfully investigate” as a suspect.
“Mr. Duggar attempted to call Mr. Williams— whom Mr. Duggar served with a trial subpoena and who was physically present at the district court pursuant to that subpoena—to testify,” the filing noted. “However, the district court ruled that Mr. Duggar would only be permitted to ask Mr. Williams whether he was present on the car lot on May 13 through May 16 and if he ever ‘remoted in’ to the office machine.”
Trial testimony from Department of Justice Forensics Expert James Fottrell revealed that Duggar was the only person present on his car lot during the moments when illegal Child Sexual Assault Material was downloaded on his HP desktop computer.
“Mr. Duggar was forced to choose not to ‘call Caleb Williams for the very limited purpose that the Court would allow us to,’” the defense claimed.
In conclusion, defense attorney Justin Gelfand said that “this case presents the perfect opportunity to clarify the law, to resolve the longstanding circuit split, and to give meaning to this Court’s precedent that ‘the Constitution guarantees criminal defendants a meaningful opportunity to present a complete defense.’”
Duggar is currently serving a 151-month federal prison sentence at FCI Seagoville, outside of Dallas, Texas.
I rolled my eyes so hard I saw my occipital lobe. Thanks for the update. 😀
Gonna be no inheritance for all those other siblings, Daddy gonna spend it all on legal fees