Barry Bonds took another round from the U.S. prosecutors who put his trial on hold in March 2009.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, upholding the ruling of the lower court, determined that Bonds will not be faced at his federal trial for perjury and obstruction of justice, with positive results from certain urine samples.
That’s because the tests were administered privately by Bonds’ BFF and former trainer, Greg Anderson, not Major League Baseball.
The evidence would have to be introduced in court by the person who was responsible for them and knew the results, and Anderson has refused to testify.
His refusal has been consistent over the years. Read about Anderson’s undying loyalty. Anderson, served more than a year in jail during the course of two periods of incarceration. He chose punishment for contempt of court citations rather than spill what he knows about Bonds.
It’s not as if the government didn’t try every way it could to gain his cooperation. Anderson’s wife and mother-in-law have been implicated in a tax evasion scheme that the former trainer believes is a bold attempt at trading his testimony for lightening up on his wife. Anderson’s lawyer said the IRS was worse than the Mafia.
The case against Bonds is the final one on the calendar that stems from athletes testifying in front of the grand jury that investigated the now defunct BALCO Lab. Bond’s testified that he unknowingly took steroids supplied by BALCO.
The government has one positive urine test to use in its case. Interestingly, when taken in 2003 by MLB it resulted in a negative result. It was only a year later when the feds got a hold of the sample that they tested it for THG and got the positive.
Among the other evidence the government has and will use, is a tape recording taken secretly by Bonds’ former assistant, Steve Hoskins.
It reportedly contains statements made by Anderson during a 2003 conversation with Hoskins related to how and where Bonds got injected by Anderson.
The government took this fifteen month time-out because they believe the excluded evidence is crucial to a conviction.
It is anyone’s guess if the case will proceed after this latest setback. There is another appeal that can be made to the full Ninth Circuit bench and of course the ultimate arbiter of things such as this, the U.S. Supreme Court.
in the meantime, Bonds, who hasn’t played a game of baseball in three years has refused to officially retire. Bonds tells Giants’ fans “I haven’t retired.”
I certainly don’t speak for teams in MLB but I don’t think a contract will be forthcoming any time soon.
MORE: Roger Clemens Remains Under Investigation for Perjury
Re-printed with permission of the author.
Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles.
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