How Josh Duggar's Wife Anna Assisted Motion to Vacate Sentence Before Denial
Josh Duggar's wife, Anna Duggar, helped her husband with his motion to vacate his sentence before it was ultimately denied by a judge.
According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly on Tuesday, June 2, Josh, 38, exchanged drafts of his motion with Anna, 37, before its submittal due date. He would write the information out by hand or use a typewriter before sending the drafts to his spouse via mail.
Anna transcribed her husband's physical copies on the computer. After typing up the documents, Anna sent copies of the paperwork back to Josh so he could sign them. She also pre-filled the date on the Certificate of Service as June 24, 2025, the day of its scheduled deadline.
Despite Anna's assistance, the motion was ultimately denied by a judge, per the docs. The judge's decision came after determining that Josh filed the motion late. The document, due on June 24, 2025, was addressed to the US Attorney's Office and received by the court clerk nearly a month later, on July 29, 2025. The court received another copy the following month.
Josh argued that he should be protected by the prison mailbox rule, which gives inmates leniency on deadlines as long as the documents are "deposited in the institution's internal mailing system on or before the last day for filing."
The 19 Kids and Counting alum claimed that after receiving the paperwork from Anna, he addressed two envelopes before the filing's deadline. Josh claimed he obtained stamps via another inmate. While preparing to send out the paperwork, Josh had an issue with the amount of postage but ultimately resolved the matter. He claims he mailed the proper paperwork by its required due date.
According to the court, the document was postmarked after the date Josh alleges it was mailed.
The judge found that Josh's testimony was "not credible," as he did not have Anna come in to formally and legally corroborate his claims.
"The Court can grant Mr. Duggar one coincidence," the judge 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."
Josh was arrested in 2021 and later convicted of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse materials. He was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison the following year.
While behind bars, Josh has appealed his case multiple times to no avail. Us previously confirmed that Josh's release is scheduled for February 2, 2033.
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This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 12:17 PM.