Bonds' Lawyers Score Big in Court
Two court hearings in Bonds case today
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Barry Bonds headed back to court Thursday.
To the surprise of absolutely no one, Barry Bonds plead not guilty Thursday morning in a U.S. District Court on charges of perjury.
The government alleges Bonds lied under oath years ago in the unending steroid saga known as The United States vs. Barry Bonds.
He's in on ten counts of lying to the jury and one count of obstruction of justice. This is actually the third time he's plead not guilty on these charges, but the charges have been revised twice on technicalities.
Yes, he actually did show up.
Just like we do when we try to get out of speeding tickets, he physically showed up in a suit at the courthouse, went through the metal detector, got scanned with the wand, sat in a courtroom and entered the actual plea himself.
It's the same for Barry as it is with any defendant in an American court room. Except he's got the half dozen million-dollar attorneys and chauffeured black SUV to drive him around after wards.
Then the lawyers argued it out over what evidence can be admitted during the trial. That arguement in part centered around whether the government can prove the urine used in tests was handled properly. (Stop smirking.)
Legal round clearly gave team-Bonds a hit.
That's because the judge admitted in court her "preliminary thoughts" are to exclude from trial three positive drug tests, though she's inclined to keep a recorded conversation between Bonds' personal trainer and former personal assistant discussing steroid use.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said during an evidentiary hearing Thursday that she was leaning toward excluding the results seized by investigators during a BALCO raid unless there is direct testimony tying the urine samples to Bonds.
The judge will issue a written decision later. Bonds' trial is scheduled to begin March 2 and lawyers estimate it last about a month.
Court documents released Wednesday show Bonds tested positive for three types of steroids, and his personal trainer once told his business manager in the Giants' clubhouse how he injected the slugger with performance-enhancing drugs "all over the place."
You can read the documents for yourself by click on the following pdf links:
- Federal Government evidence
- Exhibit list
- Request to have documents unsealed
- Bonds' Lawyer's response
- Grand Jury transcripts
- Letter from judge who unsealed
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Posted Friday, Jul 17, 2009 - 5:33 PM PST
