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SAN FRANCISCO -- The federal trial of former San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds likely will not commence until March 2011 -- more than three years after baseball's all-time home run champ was originally indicted on perjury and obstruction charges. That conclusion was made as lawyers in the case and U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston maneuvered through scheduling conflicts at a status hearing on Friday. Bonds' lawyers said they'd be ready to go as soon as October, but Illston said she has as slate of cases over the next several months that prevented an earlier start date.
"Everybody who knows anything about this case -- except for maybe the government -- is very anxious to have a trial and let the jury decide the case," Allen Ruby, Bonds' lead attorney, said outside the courthouse. "We believe this is an ill-advised prosecution of somebody who should never have been charged."
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Parrella and Jeff Nedrow declined to comment as they left the courtroom. The two sides will reconvene for another status hearing on Aug. 6.
Bonds was not present for Friday's hearing.
Bonds, originally indicted in November 2007, was set to go trial on 10 counts of making false declarations to a grand jury and one count of obstruction of justice in March 2009. Days before jury selection was to begin, prosecutors filed notice that they were going to file a rare appeal after Illston excluded much of the evidence collected in raids on BALCO in 2003, including the results of three drug tests that purport to show Bonds tested positive for steroids between 2000 and 2001.
Illston ruled that without the testimony of Bonds' friend and former personal trainer Greg Anderson, the validity of the tests could be verified. And there's virtually no chance that Anderson, who served more than a year in prison for contempt after he refused to testify in front of the Bonds grand jury, will opt to testify in the trial.
There's still the possibility that prosecutors could drop the case, although that appears unlikely.
"I don't think they are going to drop it," said Peter Keane, dean emeritus of the Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco. "They have enough [evidence] to put this in front of jury. The only way I think it gets dropped is if Bonds makes some sort of a plea."
Ruby said there's no chance of that happening.
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