Sep 04 2011
Roger Clemens will Face Retrial on Steroid Case
Judge Walton can’t legally throw out the indictment thus a retrial was ruled Friday. The defense was dismayed by the decision of Judge Reggie Walton to allow the prosecution to retry Roger Clemens for steroid perjury charges. Clemens’ lead lawyer told the media that they will decide within days whether to appeal the ruling.
Defense: Mistrial Provoked
The defense asked Judge Walton to declare a mistrial when the prosecution presented evidences that were previously barred by the judge. The trial in July ended abruptly due to the presentation of a video containing the deposition of Laura Pettitte, wife of another key witness Andy Pettitte. The judge ruled the testimony of Laura is inadmissible but the prosecution still showed the video on the second day of trial.
The defense already requested for the total dismissal of the indictments but the prosecution asked for a retrial and defended their error. Clemens’ lawyers argued that the government deliberately committed the error so that a mistrial is declared.
At the hearing Friday, the defense reiterated their position. “No doubt this was a calculated effort to make an end run around this court’s ruling,” said Michael Attanasio, Clemens lawyer. He said that the government employed a win-at-all-cost mentality. “This was a tactical desire to get the upper hand and it is beneath the dignity of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
Retrial Not Fair
Attanasio added that a retrial is not fair to their client. “We cannot let that go with a handshake. It’s too important to our client. They have walked over him in an effort to start over and it’s not right,” he said.
Judge: Mistrial not Provoked
Judge Walton fumed when the prosecution erred in the July trial. However, his latest decision favored the government. In his ruling, the judge said that he can’t find factual basis to conclude that the government deliberately committed the mistake as claimed by the defense. “I would hate to believe they just blatantly disregarded rulings that I made, but it’s hard for me to reach any other conclusion,” said Judge Walton.
He also added that the error occurred too early in proceedings so it’s hard for him to conclude prosecutors were concerned about the jury or course of the trial.
Judge Walton also said that the double jeopardy rule is not applicable in Clemens’ case. He set a new trial on April 17.
Retrial: Back to Square One
Clemens’ retrial on the six count indictment will just prolong his agony. The pitcher continuously denied that he lied about his steroid use. But the key witnesses of the prosecution claims that Clemens used performance enhancing drugs during his career. Andy Pettitte claimed that his buddy confided to him about taking HGH injections while his former trainer, Brian McNamee, claimed that he personally injected Clemens with human growth hormone on several occasions.
The defense team will again convince the jury that Clemens is innocent and should not be convicted for obstruction of Congress, making false statements and perjury.
[...] an effort to get a better position in the second trial of baseball pitcher Roger Clemens, US prosecutors filed Monday a motion that will bar the presentation of the same argument by the [...]
[...] Pettitte will not only be seen pitching for the Yankees but will also appear in court when the retrial of Roger Clemens’ case starts in April. The prosecutions recently filed a supplemental trial memorandum that will include [...]