12:05 PM: Jury selection began in federal court in San Francisco this morning in the perjury trial of home-run champion Barry Bonds.
Bonds, 46, is accused of four counts of making false statements and one count of obstructing justice when he told a federal grand jury in 2003 testimony that he never knowingly took steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs.
The trial is expected to last about four weeks.
Illston told a group of about three-dozen prospective jurors, “You will be the judges of the facts.
“We will ask you to decide the facts just based on the evidence in this courtroom the testimony on the witness stand, the documents and nothing else,” she said.
“You will not be asked to decide whether you like steroids or don’t like steroids. The question is whether the testimony was truthful or not,” Illston said.
The selection process began with the dismissal of 39 prospective jurors from a pool of about 100 because of hardship or other reasons. Those jurors never appeared in the courtroom and were excused by Illston on the basis of a written questionnaire they filled out last week.
After a group of about three-dozen possible jurors was brought into the courtroom, the judge dismissed two more on grounds that serving in the several-week trial would be a hardship.
Illston then began individual questioning of the prospective jurors, with queries on where they live, whether they have previously served on a jury, and whether they could be fair and impartial.
A San Francisco resident who described himself as a former Air Force accounting specialist told the judge, “I would be reluctant to render a judgment against a great athlete like Mr. Bonds.”
A Moraga woman said she would have difficulty being fair because she formerly worked as a flight attendant on charter flights for football and baseball teams.
“I’m still getting over my baseball charters,” she told the judge.
Illston made no immediate decision on whether to dismiss those jury candidates.
Bonds set Major League Baseball’s records for single-season and career home runs while playing for the San Francisco Giants between 1993 and 2007.
10:59 AM:Jury selection in the perjury trial of home-run champion Barry Bonds resumed at about 9:40 a.m. today when about three-dozen potential jurors entered the San Francisco courtroom of U.S. District Judge Susan Illston and were sworn in.
Bonds, 46, is accused of one count of obstruction of justice and four counts of making false statements when he told a federal grand jury in 2003 testimony that he never knowingly took steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs.
Illston told the prospective jurors, “You will be the judges of the facts.
“We will ask you to decide the facts just based on the evidence in this courtroom the testimony on the witness stand, the documents and nothing else,” she said.
“You will not be asked to decide whether you like steroids or don’t like steroids. The question is whether the testimony was truthful or not,” Illston said.
Illston told the prospective jurors she expects the trial to last about four weeks.
She began questioning the potential jurors by asking whether participating in the trial would be a “real hardship.”
Several said they would have difficulty serving for reasons including a need to care for ill relatives or young children, but after consulting with prosecution and defense attorneys, Illston agreed to dismiss only two of them.
The judge then began general questioning of the candidates, asking them to say where they live and what kind of work they do, and whether there is any reason why they could not be fair.
Before the jury candidates entered the courtroom, the judge excused another 38 prospective jurors who both the prosecution and defense had agreed should be dismissed for hardship or other reasons. Illston also agreed to dismiss a 39th candidate at the request of prosecutors.
The earlier dismissals were based on written questionnaires the jurors filled out last week.
A total of 12 regular jurors and four alternatives will be selected.
Jury selection began at about 8:30 a.m. in the court of U.S. District Judge Susan Illston at the Federal Building on Golden Gate Avenue.
As soon as the trial opened, Illston announced that in papers filed this morning, the prosecution and defense agreed to dismiss 38 potential jurors out of a pool of approximately 100, for various reasons.
Illston then called a brief recess at about 8:50 a.m. so that those jurors could be dismissed. No potential jurors have been brought into the courtroom yet.
The perjury trial comes seven years after the former San Francisco Giants slugger told a federal grand jury he never knowingly took steroids.
Bonds, 46, is accused of four counts of false statements and one count of obstruction of justice in testimony before the grand jury on Dec. 4, 2003.
The grand jury was investigating the sale of performance-enhancing drugs by the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO.
The former Giants outfielder set Major League Baseball’s career home-run record of 762 during his last season with the team in 2007. He hit the single-season record of 73 in 2001.
Bonds is the last of 11 defendants who were charged in federal court in San Francisco with either illegal drug distribution or lying in connection with BALCO probe.
Eight defendants – including two BALCO officials, a chemist and Bonds’ trainer, Greg Anderson – pleaded guilty to various charges.
Two others – cycling champion Tammy Thomas and Olympic track coach Trevor Graham – went to trial in Illston’s court and were separately convicted of lying to investigators or the grand jury.
The five counts against Bonds each carry a theoretical maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if he is convicted. But on similar charges, Thomas and Graham were sentenced to six months and one year of home confinement, respectively.
The trial is expected to last several weeks.
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