Another round in the court is about to proceed to toss out Barry Bonds’ conviction in his obstruction of justice verdict. An appeal was officially submitted in a US Court of Appeals after Bonds was sentenced to spend 30 days in home confinement with location monitoring. He was also obliged by the court to pay $4,000 fine plus 250 hours of community service.

Although he was given a lighter sentence for giving an evasive response before a federal grand jury, Bonds camp would like the verdict of the judge be overturned.

Bonds’ Lengthy Legal Battle on his Steroid Case

The home-run record holder was found guilty in April for his vague and senseless answer to the federal grand jury. He was then asked if his trainer Greg Anderson ever gave him anything that required a syringed for injection. Instead for an ethical reply of yes or no, Bonds narrated a 146-word response. He replied with a tale of him being a celebrity child and someone who didn’t get into other people’s business. At the end of his lengthy answer, he said it’s a “no”. He later faced several counts of perjury and obstruction of justice for his nonsensical answer, pervasive efforts to mislead the grand jury and refusal to answer questions under oath.

Barry Bonds was included in an investigation of steroid use in sports but the prosecution failed to prove that he took anabolic steroids. Bonds was also acquitted in participating in any wrongdoing as far as steroids and human growth hormone is concerned. He was one of the elite athletes included in the probe of the California-based Bay Area Cooperative or BALCO which supplied designer steroids to professional athletes.

Sympathy for Barry Bonds

The conviction for Barry Bonds, even it was a light punishment, would be something to consider before he becomes eligible for the ballot in the baseball’s Hall of Fame. Alongside the fact that the American baseball home run king had been the target of the feds for years for an alleged steroid use. Bonds’ batting accomplishments is now being questioned because of his use of performance enhancing drugs.

With all his critics rocketing controversial issues on him and his eligibility for the Hall of Fame, the Black and Brown neighborhoods of New York recently aired their sympathy. The people in the community speculate that there may be a double standard favoring white people who are also in steroids.

An Appeal to the Court

Federal prosecutors will have until April 20 to take action in response to the appeal of Bonds’ attorney to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court Appeal. Another 14 days will be allotted to Bonds’ lawyer to file a reply.

A three-judge panel will be randomly assigned to hear oral arguments this year. Dennis Riordan, Bonds’ appellate attorney states that it could take approximately 18 months before a decision from the court could transpire. US District Judge Susan Illston stated in her decision that Barry Bonds would not serve his sentence until the appeal process has been completed.

The appeal could take two years before a final ruling can be made. The finality in Bonds’ case could be sometime in 2014.

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