After so many months spent figuring out what is and isn’t admissible, on Monday the Barry Bonds trial officially hit the San Francisco courtroom with the beginning of the jury selection process. It’s expected that voir dire will take multiple days, after which the trial can begin in earnest.
Barry Bonds Trial Kicks Off Monday With Jury Selection
The entire trial is projected to last between three and four weeks. Bonds is facing four charges of perjury and one charge of obstruction of justice, all stemming from grand jury testimony he gave in 2003 concerning his history with BALCO. The prosecution - which is the government, as the case's official name is USA v. Barry Bonds - asserts that Bonds lied when he denied knowingly being given or administered performance-enhancing drugs by trainer Greg Anderson. And while we've literally been talking about this case for a few years, now we can finally start making some actual progress, either towards justice or towards putting this all behind us, depending on your perspective.
A number of witnesses will be called during the course of the trial, but among them will be former baseball players including Benito Santiago, Jason Giambi, and Armando Rios. Anderson will be called, but he's expected to refuse to testify. He's currently in jail serving a sentence for refusing to testify to the grand jury.
Be sure to stay tuned to this StoryStream for updates as the trial progresses. And for even more depth, check out SB Nation Bay Area, where David Fucillo will be attending and blogging from the courtroom. You can find him tweeting at @SBNBayArea.
See More:
