Oct 5, 2006 12:00 pm US/Mountain
Judge: Bonds' Trainer To Be Freed From Prison
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ―
-
-
Barry Bonds' trainer Greg Anderson has been imprisoned twice for refusing to testify. (File)
AP
A federal judge ordered Barry Bonds' personal trainer released from prison Thursday, saying a legal "snafu" had arisen.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup said Greg Anderson must be freed, because a federal appeals court hadn't affirmed his contempt order within the required 30 days.
Anderson, 40, could be returned to prison when the appeals court affirms the Aug. 28 contempt citation. Anderson was cited after refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating whether Bonds committed perjury when he said he never knowingly used steroids.
Anderson has been imprisoned twice for refusing to testify. He served 15 days in July and was released when that previous grand jury expired.
In 2003, Bonds told a grand jury probing the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative steroid ring that Anderson gave him flaxseed oil and arthritic balm. Anderson later pleaded guilty to distributing steroids and money laundering.
Anderson, who served three months in prison and three months of home detention for his conviction, has appealed his contempt jailing on several fronts, including that his plea deal prevented him from having to cooperate with authorities.
Alsup has dismissed his claims, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal sent Anderson's appeal back to the judge to clarify the original contempt order, which might have averted Anderson's release.
"This snafu has arisen by an apparent failure by the court to be clear of its findings," Alsup said.
The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals never has ruled on the full merits of Anderson's appeal.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments