SAN FRANCISCO — A lawyer for Barry Bonds has urged a federal appeals court to toss out the slugger’s obstruction of justice conviction.
Dennis Riordan (REAR-den) argued Wednesday before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that Bonds’ was never specifically charged with the crime he was convicted of. A jury in April 2011 found Bonds guilty of obstruction for saying he was a “celebrity child” when asked about injecting steroids.
That particular exchange wasn’t included in the indictment.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Merry Chan argued that the indictment charged Bonds generally with obstruction and allowed jurors to convict him if they determined any of his testimony was designed to mislead.
The three-judge panel was not expected to rule Wednesday.
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