Barry Bonds files for appeal
A.P. / 5-3-12
SAN FRANCISCO ...
Bonds' lawyers filed a 60-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, Major League Baseball's all-time home runs leader, replied that he was a "celebrity child" rather than answering the question directly. Bonds' father was Bobby Bonds, a 13-year major league veteran and three-time All Star.
SNIP
On Thursday (5-3), Bonds' attorneys stressed that federal investigators whiffed on proving the heart of their case against the slugger, which was that he lied when he denied in 2003 grand jury testimony that he took performance-enhancing drugs to boost his career. Federal prosecutors revised their indictment several times and delayed trial for a year while appealing an important evidentiary decision to the 9th Circuit.
"This case arose out of the federal government's efforts to combat steroid use in sports," Bonds appellate attorney Dennis Riordan wrote. "That crusade, while admirable in its underlying purpose, has been pursued with an intensity at times bordering on zealotry."
FULL STORY: http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7888055/barry-bonds-files-appeal-erase-felony-conviction
The "Celebrity Child" defense? Give me a break. Why not dust-off the Dan White "Twinkie" defense too?
Federal Prosecutors are expected to file their opposition in a few weeks. I'm surprised no one has posted this yet.
= new reply since forum marked as read
"Twinkie defense" is a derisive label for an improbable legal defense.
It is not a recognized legal defense in jurisprudence, but a catchall term coined by reporters during their coverage of the trial of defendant Dan White for the murders of San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk and mayor George Moscone.
White's defense was that he suffered diminished capacity as a result of his depression. His change in diet from healthy food to Twinkies and other sugary food was said to be a symptom of depression.
Contrary to common belief, White's attorneys did not argue that the Twinkies were the cause of White's actions, but that their consumption was symptomatic of his underlying depression. White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twinkie_defense
