Bonds files appeal to erase felony conviction
Thursday, May 3, 2012
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Barry Bonds is asking a federal appeals court to toss out his felony obstruction conviction.
Bonds' lawyers filed a 70-page legal brief on Thursday with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals arguing his conviction was based on a rambling and irrelevant -- but truthful -- answer to a grand jury question about whether his trainer ever provided him with an injectable substance.
Bonds replied that he was a "celebrity child" rather than answering the question directly. A jury decided after a roughly three-week trial last year that the answer represented an obstruction of justice. The jury deadlocked on three other perjury charges alleging he lied to a grand jury when he denied knowing taking performance-enhancing drugs.
Federal prosecutors are expected to file their opposition later this month.
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