Bonds convicted of obstruction of justice

[ls7plus]

Originally Posted by calvindog

I told Peter Speath 100 times: no way this guy gets off. Next time he'll listen to me.

I agree completely, but why no conviction on the perjury count? The obstruction and perjury go hand in hand in light of the proofs presented. It would appear that some jury members wanted to let Bonds off lightly and reached what was clearly a compromise verdict.



Larry

[drc]

I'm not a lawyer and am not pretending to be one, but perhaps the jurors suspected or thought he lied even though they determined it wasn't proven to the point that guilty was warranted. However, and with their suspicion of lying, they felt his answers to the questions intentionally obfuscatory. One can obfuscate and deceive without literally lying-- just read many eBay auction descriptions--, so guilt of perjury isn't a requirement.

[Chris-Counts]

The whole affair was (still is?) an epic waste of tax money. Whatever Bonds did wasn't nearly as bad as what the politicians and the media have done by keeping this nonsense on the front page for years ...

[ls7plus]

You know, he was such a jerk at times when he was playing, but was also fascinating to watch, even though you knew it wasn't legit. Really the only guy I've seen in 40+ years of dedicated fandom that made major league pitching look like slow-pitch softball. Bonds kind of gave you a real idea of what it would have been like to watch the Babe or Teddy Ballgame in their primes.

On the other hand, as a lawyer, you don't like to see perjury go unpunished, and in such a high profile case (more or less mandated by the 'roids issues over the last decade), the feds simply aren't going to let it just go by when it occurs before a grand jury. It would be kind of like a really irritated lawyer saying to a judge who's been giving him a hard time that (and I know I'm stealing some other member's line here--my appologies!) "better that people think that you're a fool than to speak and remove all doubt!" Say that, and you'd better have your tooth brush packed! Bonds similarly thumbed his nose at the grand jury, rather than choosing to come clean, and the feds were at a minimum going to make him pay for that conduct, be it through a felony conviction, large-scale attorney fees incurred for his defense, or both.

Larry

[Abravefan11]

Originally Posted by Chris Counts

The whole affair was (still is?) an epic waste of tax money. Whatever Bonds did wasn't nearly as bad as what the politicians and the media have done by keeping this nonsense on the front page for years ...

I would agree if what was at stake was simply whether Barry did or didn't do steroids. What is at stake is whether he knowingly gave false testimony to a grand jury.

[mintacular]

MLB should be convicted for not having a real drug policy and looking the other way. Bonds was one of the greatest players of all-time with or without steroids and MLB allowed him to juice his achievements. They are the real criminals...

[Big Six]

Originally Posted by Abravefan11

I would agree if what was at stake was simply whether Barry did or didn't do steroids. What is at stake is whether he knowingly gave false testimony to a grand jury.

+1

If he wasn't tried then it gives carte Blanche for all "celebrities" to lie and act above the law...it's almost an argument that celebrities should be gone after more diligently since so many see them as role models. They could conceivably be held to the proverbial higher standard...

[ctownboy]

mintacular,

From what I have read, the Commissioner's Office HAD a policy against PED's as far back as 1993. The problem was that the Player's Association would not agree to adopt that policy in the labor agreement and so the Commissioner was powerless to do anything. Because, if he had, then the Player's Union would go on strike and that is what baseball DIDN'T need back then.

David

[calvindog]

One count of conviction or four makes no difference . And I'd be surprised if he doesn't at least get some jail time, even if just a few months. Judges take obstruction and perjury convictions very seriously as such actions really shake the foundations of the system so to speak.

[tbob]

Jeff- if you look at what some related sentences were in obstruction cases like BALCO/Tammy Thomas, he is probably looking at house arrest and probation. I don't believe he'll spend a day in jail. According to a "19 year old blonde named Amber" (good job by the Government getting solid jurors, sheesh), the jury was 8-4 in favor of Bonds on 2 charges (lying about steroids and lying about HGH use) and 11-1 for conviction on the charge he got an injection from someone other than a doctor. The hold out juror was "Nyiesha", who said she almost voted to convict.
Dr. Ting's testimony crippled the Government's case according to 3 jurors. Your first day in law school you learn to never ask a question you don't know the answer to but the U.S. Attorney must have been absent that day.

[calvindog]

I think the judge may feel she has to give Bonds a taste of jail because of his significance as opposed to the track coach and the other athlete. All in all, the trial resulted in an embarrassment to the govt because they didn't convict Bonds of the charges relating to knowingly using steroids and lying about it to the Grand Jury. Yes, they got a conviction...but it wasn't what they wanted and they were very lucky to even get that.

[CMIZ5290]

Jeff- hope you are right about the chances of a little jail time, but my gut tells me he will just get home confinement (what's the legal term?) and probabtion.

[Section103]

The reason some people see the trial as important is because of the principal of the matter - that he lied to a grand jury and to an extent the precedent it sets (that last part couldnt impact me less). The reason other people dont care is because of the context in which he lied - he lied to feds trying to bust some illegal drug distributor selling drugs to multi-million dollar athletes with no perceivable effect on society as a whole. They're both reasonably logical perceptions based on the world you happen to live in and the way you construct your views.