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http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/U-S-prosecutors-call-quits-to-Barry-Bonds-case-6397312.php
The U.S. Justice Department revealed that it will not challenge a federal appeals court ruling in April that overturned Bonds’ 2011 conviction for obstruction of justice in a sweeping federal investigation of performing-enhancing drugs.
Federal prosecutors could have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decade-long case, but a legal brief filed Tuesday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Francisco indicates that attorneys will allow the latest decision to stand. The office did not return phone calls requesting comment.
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Bonds, 50, played for the Giants between 1993 and 2007, setting many Major League Baseball records, including most career home runs at 762, surpassingHank Aaron’s 755. But his accomplishments were tainted when he became the highest profile player to be linked to a federal probe of illegal doping at BALCO, the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative in Burlingame.
While Bonds was never convicted of using banned substances, he was accused in 2007 of lying under oath when asked about his steroid use and indicted on three counts of perjury and one count of obstructing justice. In 2011, jurors found him guilty of one charge of obstruction of justice.
On April 22, however, the Ninth U.S Court of Appeals ruled that Bonds’ “rambling, nonresponsive answer” to questions about whether his trainer gave him drugs was not an attempt to throw off the investigation. In a 10-1 decision, the judges found there was not enough evidence to support the charge that he had impeded the case, and the conviction was tossed.
Bonds said in a statement at the time that he was “humbled and truly thankful for the outcome as well as the opportunity our judicial system affords to all individuals to seek justice.”
Neither Bonds nor his attorney immediately responded to requests for comment Tuesday.
The clearing of Bond’s felony record is likely to boost Bonds’ tarnished reputation — at least somewhat. He all but vanished from baseball in 2007, but recently has become an increasing presence in the Giants clubhouse, often provide hitting tips to younger players.
Some have speculated that Bonds will eventually be elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame.
Still, many fans believe the 14-year All-Star was a cheat and is getting off easy. The fact remains, many say, that Bonds tested positive for steroids, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Bonds has defended his actions by saying he took the drugs because he thought they were flaxseed oil and arthritis balm.
Rory Little, a former federal prosecutor and now a professor of law at UC Hastings, said the government’s failure to convict Bonds can be credited to a strong legal defense. His attorneys were successful in limiting the initial conviction to just one count of obstructing justice, a charge that is vague and sometimes tough to prove and, as such, didn’t hold up in the appeals court review, Little explained.
“It was a surprise that the jury did not convict on the perjury counts, the lying counts,” Little said.
Left with the decision of whether to contest the obstruction of justice count in front of the Supreme Court, justice department prosecutors didn’t have a strong case, Little said.
“On this one, there’s too many bad facts,” he said. “There’s too much confusion. And there’s too many loose ends.”
The U.S. Justice Department revealed that it will not challenge a federal appeals court ruling in April that overturned Bonds’ 2011 conviction for obstruction of justice in a sweeping federal investigation of performing-enhancing drugs.
Federal prosecutors could have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decade-long case, but a legal brief filed Tuesday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Francisco indicates that attorneys will allow the latest decision to stand. The office did not return phone calls requesting comment.
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Bonds, 50, played for the Giants between 1993 and 2007, setting many Major League Baseball records, including most career home runs at 762, surpassingHank Aaron’s 755. But his accomplishments were tainted when he became the highest profile player to be linked to a federal probe of illegal doping at BALCO, the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative in Burlingame.
While Bonds was never convicted of using banned substances, he was accused in 2007 of lying under oath when asked about his steroid use and indicted on three counts of perjury and one count of obstructing justice. In 2011, jurors found him guilty of one charge of obstruction of justice.
On April 22, however, the Ninth U.S Court of Appeals ruled that Bonds’ “rambling, nonresponsive answer” to questions about whether his trainer gave him drugs was not an attempt to throw off the investigation. In a 10-1 decision, the judges found there was not enough evidence to support the charge that he had impeded the case, and the conviction was tossed.
Bonds said in a statement at the time that he was “humbled and truly thankful for the outcome as well as the opportunity our judicial system affords to all individuals to seek justice.”
Neither Bonds nor his attorney immediately responded to requests for comment Tuesday.
The clearing of Bond’s felony record is likely to boost Bonds’ tarnished reputation — at least somewhat. He all but vanished from baseball in 2007, but recently has become an increasing presence in the Giants clubhouse, often provide hitting tips to younger players.
Some have speculated that Bonds will eventually be elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame.
Still, many fans believe the 14-year All-Star was a cheat and is getting off easy. The fact remains, many say, that Bonds tested positive for steroids, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Bonds has defended his actions by saying he took the drugs because he thought they were flaxseed oil and arthritis balm.
Rory Little, a former federal prosecutor and now a professor of law at UC Hastings, said the government’s failure to convict Bonds can be credited to a strong legal defense. His attorneys were successful in limiting the initial conviction to just one count of obstructing justice, a charge that is vague and sometimes tough to prove and, as such, didn’t hold up in the appeals court review, Little explained.
“It was a surprise that the jury did not convict on the perjury counts, the lying counts,” Little said.
Left with the decision of whether to contest the obstruction of justice count in front of the Supreme Court, justice department prosecutors didn’t have a strong case, Little said.
“On this one, there’s too many bad facts,” he said. “There’s too much confusion. And there’s too many loose ends.”
