Barry Bonds Seeks Dismissal Of His Felony Conviction

Barry Bonds is seeking the dismissal of his felony conviction of obstruction of justice. The former MLB player’s lawyer appeared in front of a federal appeals court on Wednesday to argue his Bonds’ case.

Appellate specialist Dennis Riordan argued the case before the court, saying that a rambling answer in front of a grand jury was not a crime.

Riordan added that Bonds was never formally charged with the felony that he was convicted of, reports Yahoo! News.

Prosecutors in the investigation asked Bonds if his personal trainer, Greg Anderson, ever gave him “anything that required a syringe to inject yourself with?” In response, Bonds referred to his father, Bobby Bonds, when he responded:

” … that’s what keeps our friendship. You know, I am sorry, but that — you know, that — I was a celebrity child, not just in baseball by my own instincts. I became a celebrity child with a famous father. I just don’t get into other people’s business because of my father’s situation, you see … “

Fox News notes that Barry Bonds’ lawyers seeking that his conviction be overturned will argue that the former baseball player’s answer was not material to the grand jury. They will also argue that his answer was truthful and that he answered a similar question later in his testimony.

Prosecutors in the case argued that Bonds answer was “intentionally false, misleading or evasive.” They are expected to urge the judges to respect the jury’s initial verdict.

After he was convicted, Barry Bonds was sentenced by US District Judge Susan Illston to 30 days of house arrest and two years of probation. That sentence was suspended pending Bonds’ appeal for dismissal of his conviction.

Do you think Barry Bonds’ conviction should be dismissed?

[Image by Jim Accordino [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons]