SAN FRANCISCO -- The jury deciding the federal perjury case against Barry Bonds found him guilty of obstruction of justice on Wednesday, but it could not come to a conclusion on the three counts of making false declarations regarding his 2003 testimony before the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) grand jury.
With that, Judge Susan Illston excused the jurors, and then declared a mistrial on the three charges that the jury couldn't decide upon. A sentencing date of May 20 was set by Illston.
Defense counsel moved for a directed verdict to dismiss the remaining charge or a new trial. The two sides will set a date to discuss that with Illston.
The eight women and four men who were impaneled March 22 in Illston's courtroom listened to 11 days of testimony and arguments before taking three days and four hours to come in with their split verdict on Bonds, the Major Leagues' all-time leader in home runs and a seven-time Most Valuable Player.
The outcome was made even more dramatic by a misunderstanding between the jury and the court. The jury informed the court early Wednesday afternoon that it had reached a verdict, but when court was called back in session there was confusion about what exactly they had concluded.
Illston called the two legal sides together to determine how to approach the situation. Defense attorney Allen Ruby and lead prosecutor Matthew Parrella agreed to send a note to the jury via Illston to determine exactly what the status of their deliberations was. Illston decided instead to bring the jury in the courtroom.
The confusion began when a juror informed the court clerk that they had reached a verdict, but when she asked them to return their notes -- they cannot keep them after the trial -- they said they still had issues to discuss, sending the conclusion of the trial into limbo.
Bonds originally was indicted on four charges of giving false testimony and one charge of obstruction of justice on Nov. 15, 2006. He pleaded not guilty on Dec. 7, 2006. A second indictment added 10 charges, but the third superseding indictment on Feb. 10 of this year was pared back down to four charges of making false declarations and one of obstruction of justice. One of the charges of making false statements was dropped prior to closing arguments during the trial.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
