June 15, 2011
SAN FRANCISCO (APCSN) -- Barry Bonds wants another turn at bat in the federal case against him in San Francisco.
The slugger's attorneys filed a motion Wednesday asking a judge to change Bonds' obstruction of justice conviction to an acquittal or schedule a new trial. The motion was authored by attorney Dennis Riordan.
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"Unauthorized rambling is not a federal crime," the legal brief contends. "There is no legal authority for the proposition that truthful but 'evasive' statements, much less a single statement, can constitute obstruction of justice."
Another excerpt from the motion states the following: "Even if some truthful but evasive statements could constitute obstruction, Mr. Bondss celebrity child statement was, at worst, a digression -- a bit of meandering from the question that was explicitly encouraged by the questioner."
Bonds, 46, was convicted of obstructing a grand jury's steroids investigation by giving an evasive answer during questioning in 2003. The trial ended in April with a mistrial on three perjury counts and a conviction on the single obstruction count.
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Bonds' lawyers argue he was unfairly convicted of "unauthorized rambling" in discussing being a celebrity child when asked whether his trainer ever injected him with a syringe. The lawyers insist that Bonds answered the question directly during further questioning.
A July 1 hearing is scheduled to consider the latest motion. Bonds' indictment took place in 2007, three months after breaking Hank Aaron's career home run record. Prosecutors havent indicated whether they plan to retry Bonds on the three perjury charges.
The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is United States of America v. Barry Lamar Bonds, 07-cr-0732. The motion reads as follows:
Case No. CR 07 0732 SIDEFENDANTS MOTIONS FOR JUDGMENT OF ACQUITTAL ANDOR A NEW TRIAL ON COUNT FIVE
Date:TBA
Time:TBA
Judge:The Honorable Susan Illston
Bonds is baseball's single season (73) and all-time (762) home run leader.