Barry Bonds has spent the last 11 ½ years in court fighting for his innocence after being linked to the BALCO steroid scandal and then being convicted of obstruction of justice in 2011. His legal fight ended on Wednesday.
Bonds' conviction for obstruction of justice was overturned by an 11-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals following a 10-1 vote. During the 2003 grand jury investigation, the all-time home run leader answered a question about receiving steroid injections from personal trainer Greg Anderson and responded with the following:
"That's what keeps our friendship. I was a celebrity child, not just in baseball by my own instincts. I became a celebrity child with a famous father. I just don't get into other people's business because of my father's situation, you see."
That led to his 2011 conviction, which was upheld by a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit in 2013.
However, the judges on Wednesday determined there was "insufficient evidence his initial evasive answer was material to the grand jury's probe," according to The Associated Press. The panel came to their ultimate decision in examining legal issues involving witness testimony, and Judge Alex Kozinski explained their ruling.
"The most one can say about this statement is that it was non-responsive and thereby impeded the investigation to a small degree by wasting the grand jury's time and trying the prosecutors' patience," he wrote. "Real-life witness examinations, unlike those in movies and on television, invariably are littered with non-responsive and irrelevant answers.
"..."[The obstruction statute] stretched to its limits ... poses a significant hazard for everyone involved in our system of justice, because so much of what the adversary process calls for could be construed as obstruction."
This now puts forth the argument whether or not Bonds should be elected into baseball's Hall of Fame. The 50-year-old slugger first appeared on the ballot back in 2013, but only received 36.2%, 34.7% and 36.8% of the vote in the last three years. Those who are elected into Cooperstown must receive 75% of the vote, so Bonds will have a long way to go on future ballots.
Many writers refuse to vote for players - especially hitters - who were associated with the steroid era, like former Dodgers and Mets catcher Mike Piazza, who, just like Bonds, has failed to be elected into the Hall of Fame since appearing on the ballot in 2013.
We'll see what the future now holds for Bonds, who holds the all-time record for home runs (762) as well as the single season record for home runs (73).
