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SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds' attorneys filed a motion Wednesday asking a judge to change Bonds' obstruction of justice conviction to an acquittal or schedule a new trial.
Bonds was convicted of obstructing a grand jury's steroids investigation by giving an evasive answer during questioning in 2003. The trial ended in April with a mistrial on three perjury counts along with the conviction on the single obstruction count.
Bonds' lawyers argue he was unfairly convicted of "unauthorized rambling" in discussing being a celebrity child when asked whether his trainer ever injected him with a syringe. The lawyers insist that Bonds answered the question directly during further questioning.
"Unauthorized rambling is not a federal crime," Bonds' lawyers write in their brief. They ask U.S. District Judge Susan Illston to schedule a hearing for July 1 on their request.
Illston has already scheduled a hearing for June 24 to set a sentencing date for the conviction and she may combine the two dates into one court session.
Bonds is not expected to receive a prison sentence, based on similar convictions and sentencing of two other figures charged with lying about steroids.
Bonds was convicted of obstructing a grand jury's steroids investigation by giving an evasive answer during questioning in 2003. The trial ended in April with a mistrial on three perjury counts along with the conviction on the single obstruction count.
Bonds' lawyers argue he was unfairly convicted of "unauthorized rambling" in discussing being a celebrity child when asked whether his trainer ever injected him with a syringe. The lawyers insist that Bonds answered the question directly during further questioning.
"Unauthorized rambling is not a federal crime," Bonds' lawyers write in their brief. They ask U.S. District Judge Susan Illston to schedule a hearing for July 1 on their request.
Illston has already scheduled a hearing for June 24 to set a sentencing date for the conviction and she may combine the two dates into one court session.
Bonds is not expected to receive a prison sentence, based on similar convictions and sentencing of two other figures charged with lying about steroids.