Barry Bonds trial: Defense rests, case soon to jury
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Barry Bonds arrived at the Federal building in San Francisco, Calif. Wednesday April 6, 2011 for his perjury trial.
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(04-06) 10:24 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- The prosecutors who have portrayed Barry Bonds as a steroid cheat and the defense lawyers who contend he is being framed will square off today in San Francisco federal court.
Testimony in the perjury trial of baseball's home run champion came to an abrupt end Wednesday when defense lawyers said they would not call the former Giants star - or anyone else - to the witness stand.
"The defense rests," lawyer Allen Ruby told Judge Susan Illston.
The defense team had said it might call half a dozen witnesses, including two of Bonds' former lawyers, Michael Rains and Laura Enos, and his former stretching trainer, Harvey Shields. Ruby had suggested that Bonds himself might take the stand.
At an afternoon hearing the judge directly addressed Bonds, reminding him that he had a constitutional right to testify and asking him if he wanted to.
"No," Bonds replied.
The defense move set the stage for today's final arguments.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Nedrow will go first, the government said. Then the defense will speak - both Ruby and cross-examination specialist Cristina Arguedas. The government's closing is up to Matthew Parrella, the prosecution team leader.
Soon after that, the case will go to the jury of eight women and four men.
Also Wednesday, the government dropped one of five felony charges against Bonds.
He is accused of lying under oath to the federal grand jury that investigated the BALCO steroids scandal in 2003. He testified he had never knowingly used banned drugs, only flaxseed oil and arthritis balm supplied by his trainer Greg Anderson. Bonds has pleaded not guilty.
Count four of the indictment accused Bonds of lying when he said Anderson had never provided him with anything other than vitamins before the year 2003. His answer came during questioning about whether the trainer had been providing Bonds with "the cream" and "the clear," designer steroids from the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative in Burlingame.
Earlier, the judge said she was thinking of dismissing the count because the interchange seemed to refer only to the BALCO drugs, and there was no evidence that Bonds was using those drugs until 2003.
Prosecutors argued that the question and answer could also refer to other steroids provided by Anderson. But then they withdrew the charge. Now Bonds faces three charges of lying under oath and one charge of obstruction of justice.
In more than two weeks of trial, prosecutors called a dozen key witnesses - other baseball players, doping scientists and former Bonds confidants - in an effort to prove that the former Giants star used steroids and lied about it. Bonds was using banned drugs in 2001 when he set the single-season home run record, the government says.
A positive drug test from Major League Baseball's 2003 steroid testing program showed that Bonds had used "the clear," a form of artificial testosterone, and the female fertility drug Clomid, often taken by male steroid users.
Also in evidence are portions of a 2003 recording of Anderson in the Giants' clubhouse discussing the banned drugs he said he was giving Bonds.
At the beginning of the trial, defense lawyer Ruby told the jury that Bonds "told the truth" and "provided the grand jury with useful information" during his testimony in 2003. Ruby said Bonds had been falsely accused of drug use by "bitter" former confidants - Steve Hoskins, his onetime business manager, and Kimberly Bell, his former girlfriend.
Both underwent intense, prolonged cross-examination aimed at casting doubt on their stories and suggesting they were trying to settle old scores with Bonds through false testimony.
Bonds' team seems to like the way the case has unfolded, said San Francisco lawyer William Keane, who defended track coach Trevor Graham in a steroids-related case that parallels that of Bonds.
"Calling no witnesses suggests that the defense is relatively satisfied at this point in the trial and did not want to embrace the risk that is always inherent when you start presenting your own witnesses," the trial observer said.
Keane said Bonds' biggest concern may be the count of the indictment concerning his testimony that he had never received an injection from anyone but a physician. The slugger's former personal shopper, Kathy Hoskins, told the jury she saw Anderson inject Bonds in the abdomen in 2002.
Also Wednesday, Anderson, who was imprisoned for contempt of court because he refused to testify, asked the judge to set him free because testimony had ended. The legal motion was filed by his lawyer, Mark Geragos. The government said it wanted him imprisoned until a verdict is reached. The judge made no immediate ruling.
Testimony in the perjury trial of baseball's home run champion came to an abrupt end Wednesday when defense lawyers said they would not call the former Giants star - or anyone else - to the witness stand.
"The defense rests," lawyer Allen Ruby told Judge Susan Illston.
The defense team had said it might call half a dozen witnesses, including two of Bonds' former lawyers, Michael Rains and Laura Enos, and his former stretching trainer, Harvey Shields. Ruby had suggested that Bonds himself might take the stand.
At an afternoon hearing the judge directly addressed Bonds, reminding him that he had a constitutional right to testify and asking him if he wanted to.
"No," Bonds replied.
The defense move set the stage for today's final arguments.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Nedrow will go first, the government said. Then the defense will speak - both Ruby and cross-examination specialist Cristina Arguedas. The government's closing is up to Matthew Parrella, the prosecution team leader.
Soon after that, the case will go to the jury of eight women and four men.
Also Wednesday, the government dropped one of five felony charges against Bonds.
He is accused of lying under oath to the federal grand jury that investigated the BALCO steroids scandal in 2003. He testified he had never knowingly used banned drugs, only flaxseed oil and arthritis balm supplied by his trainer Greg Anderson. Bonds has pleaded not guilty.
Count four of the indictment accused Bonds of lying when he said Anderson had never provided him with anything other than vitamins before the year 2003. His answer came during questioning about whether the trainer had been providing Bonds with "the cream" and "the clear," designer steroids from the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative in Burlingame.
Earlier, the judge said she was thinking of dismissing the count because the interchange seemed to refer only to the BALCO drugs, and there was no evidence that Bonds was using those drugs until 2003.
Prosecutors argued that the question and answer could also refer to other steroids provided by Anderson. But then they withdrew the charge. Now Bonds faces three charges of lying under oath and one charge of obstruction of justice.
In more than two weeks of trial, prosecutors called a dozen key witnesses - other baseball players, doping scientists and former Bonds confidants - in an effort to prove that the former Giants star used steroids and lied about it. Bonds was using banned drugs in 2001 when he set the single-season home run record, the government says.
A positive drug test from Major League Baseball's 2003 steroid testing program showed that Bonds had used "the clear," a form of artificial testosterone, and the female fertility drug Clomid, often taken by male steroid users.
Also in evidence are portions of a 2003 recording of Anderson in the Giants' clubhouse discussing the banned drugs he said he was giving Bonds.
At the beginning of the trial, defense lawyer Ruby told the jury that Bonds "told the truth" and "provided the grand jury with useful information" during his testimony in 2003. Ruby said Bonds had been falsely accused of drug use by "bitter" former confidants - Steve Hoskins, his onetime business manager, and Kimberly Bell, his former girlfriend.
Both underwent intense, prolonged cross-examination aimed at casting doubt on their stories and suggesting they were trying to settle old scores with Bonds through false testimony.
Bonds' team seems to like the way the case has unfolded, said San Francisco lawyer William Keane, who defended track coach Trevor Graham in a steroids-related case that parallels that of Bonds.
"Calling no witnesses suggests that the defense is relatively satisfied at this point in the trial and did not want to embrace the risk that is always inherent when you start presenting your own witnesses," the trial observer said.
Keane said Bonds' biggest concern may be the count of the indictment concerning his testimony that he had never received an injection from anyone but a physician. The slugger's former personal shopper, Kathy Hoskins, told the jury she saw Anderson inject Bonds in the abdomen in 2002.
Also Wednesday, Anderson, who was imprisoned for contempt of court because he refused to testify, asked the judge to set him free because testimony had ended. The legal motion was filed by his lawyer, Mark Geragos. The government said it wanted him imprisoned until a verdict is reached. The judge made no immediate ruling.
The Chronicle is a member of the California Watch Media Network. California Watch is part of the nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting, www.californiawatch.org.
This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/06/MNG51IR9R8.DTL#ixzz1IoxxuY2G
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