Josh Duggar's bid to vacate conviction collapses as judge tears into 'magic bullet theory'

A federal judge denied reality TV star Josh Duggar's appeal to vacate his possession of child sexual abuse material conviction — saying that he missed the filing deadline, People reported on Tuesday.

Duggar, who was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison after he was convicted in 2021, had argued that his constitutional rights were violated. Court records obtained by People revealed that U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks had denied Duggar's appeal on the grounds that he filed his motion too late.

"Duggar claimed that he should be protected by the 'prison mailbox rule,' which provides leeway on deadlines as long as motions are 'deposited in the institution's internal mailing system on or before the last day for filing,'" according to People.

Brooks found that Duggar's testimony was "not credible" and that "he failed to meet the burden of proving he should benefit from the mailbox rule" regarding how and when he mailed the documents.

"The Court can grant Mr. Duggar one coincidence," Brooks wrote. "Perhaps even two or three odd happenstances. But Mr. Duggar is asking the Court to believe something akin to a magic bullet theory—a sequential chain of events that defies common sense. Collectively, this chain of events—where Murphy's law was lurking at every turn—is simply not credible."