Barry Bonds' perjury trial opens

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.

By Bay City News