More Comedy from the 9th Circus
Well, the gang of fools called the Ninth Circus Clowns of Unreal “august body” called the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals out on the Left Coast has given us all some new comic relief.
It seems that a 5-member panel of that clown Krewe group of distinguished jurists has decided that it’s OK to be deliberately evasive when testifying before a Grand Jury. But only if your deliberately evasive answers fall in the “little white lie” or “What difference does it make?” categories.
Specifically, a five-member panel of the US 9th Circuit has overturned Barry “My Head Just Got Bigger” Bonds’ felony conviction for obstruction of justice. The stated rationale was that Bonds’ testimony for which he was convicted of obstruction of justice – while evasive and highly implausible on its face – did not regard an issue of “central importance” to the government’s investigation. Since the issue was not one that was of “central importance”, per the Ninth Circus Circuit Panel, it was therefore permissible for Bonds to be evasive and dissemble while under oath.
So, it’s OK to lie when under oath, or when answering an investigator’s questions – sometimes. But only about
“small stuff”. And sometimes it’s not OK.
Yeah, that makes “perfect sense”. Does anyone but me see a potential problem with that?
Hey, I understand the concept of a prosecutor conducting a “fishing expedition; no, I don’t support that at all. But regardless of how you feel about PEDs in professional sports, the drugs involved were and are illegal. The questions Bonds was asked hardly seem unrelated to the subject of PEDs. Further, his answers seem to me to have been designed more to avoid going on the record – or exerting Fifth Amendment rights – than anything else. IMO, it’s clear he was simply avoiding answering relevant questions clearly and completely.
As always, YMMV. Bonds’ testimony can be found here; read it and decide for yourself. Be forewarned that it’s nearly 150 pages.
IMO this isn’t exactly a shock. Hey, the case was heard by a panel from the Ninth Circus, located out on the Left Coast. They seem to use a different definition of “reality” much of the time.
Category: "Teh Stoopid", "Your Tax Dollars At Work", Baseball, Crime, Legal
One thing that has not been widely reported (although I’ve seen it in a couple of places) is that after his rambling non-answer, Bonds was again asked the same question and answered directly with a denial.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/maurybrown/2015/04/22/barry-bonds-obstruction-of-justice-conviction-being-overturned-wont-help-hall-of-fame-chances/
So, he was charged with obstruction of justice because the prosecutor had to go to the trouble of asking the question again. Really? This sort of thing happens all the time in litigation: you ask the witness a question, he gives an evasive answer, and you keep asking the question (perhaps coming at it from different angles) until you’ve pinned the witness down.
I think the 9th Circuit got this one right – and that’s something I don’t often say about the 9th Circuit.
Exactly. For those who don’t know, this was the question and answer at issue: Q: Did Greg ever give you anything that required a syringe to inject yourself with? A: I’ve only had one doctor touch me. And that’s my only personal doctor. Greg, like I said, we don’t get into each others’ personal lives. We’re friends, but I don’t — we don’t sit around and talk baseball, because he knows I don’t want — don’t come to my house talking baseball. If you want to come to my house and talk about fishing, some other stuff, we’ll be good friends. You come around talking about baseball, you go on. I don’t talk about his business. You know what I mean? […] That’s what keeps our friendship. You know, I am sorry, but that — you know, that — I was a celebrity child, not just in baseball by my own instincts. I became a celebrity child with a famous father. I just don’t get into other people’s business because of my father’s situation, you see. Non-responsive? Yes. A rambling, incoherent statement that wasn’t even close to a rational thought? Yes. A lie? No. As Kozinski notes: “Stretched to its limits, section 1503 poses a significant hazard for everyone involved in our system of justice, because so much of what the adversary process calls for could be construed as obstruction. Did a tort plaintiff file a complaint seeking damages far in excess of what the jury ultimately awards? That could be viewed as corruptly endeavoring to “influence . . . the due administration of justice” by seeking to recover more than the claim deserves. So could any of the following behaviors that make up the bread and butter of litigation: filing an answer that denies liability for conduct that is ultimately adjudged wrongful or malicious; unsuccessfully filing (or opposing) a motion to dismiss or for summary judgment; seeking a continuance in order to inflict delay on the opposing party; frivolously taking an appeal or petitioning for certiorari—the list is endless.” I say this as a former prosecutor: Trusting us to… Read more »
Netted Out:
So in the course of an investigation you lie about the central theme of the inquirey (central importance).
In follow up questioning you lie even more (although not directly related central importance).
In an appeal to the 9th Circut or as I call it, “a bunch of leftist morons, who sip lattes and live in an up-side-down alternate world” …the focus of the appeal was the degree of the lie(s).
So, this is just another example of the fiber of our counrty being stripped away by secular progressives.
Lying is OK!
Sigh. With left-minded anything nothing ever changes. FTR, lying is never okay. A liar is someone to be very scared of.
Any comment from Scooter Libby?
Of course they did.
This is my shocked face.
For the record I don’t give a flying fuck about baseball, it’s so fucking slow and boring the only thing I can imagine that would be worse is watching a couple of 80 year olds fucking…nor do I give a rat’s ass about PEDs…a bunch of overpaid men playing a child’s game on the payrolls of billionaires…fuck ’em all…that goes for my favorite sport as well. We spend far too much time worrying about stupid shit like sports and entertainment and far too little time worrying about things like who our representatives are and why are they spending my money this way…consequently we get exactly what we deserve a government that doesn’t give a shit about us because we do nothing to make the government nervous. We complain about Congress and give them a 10% approval rating but we put 90% of these assholes right back in DC because heaven forbid we should pick someone with a different letter after their name than ours…we are the stupidest electorate on the planet lately, deservedly so… That said I did find Bond’s attorney’s statement in a 10-1 decision in favor of Bonds interesting. It appears the court was less focused on Bonds and more focused on procedural aspects of testimony in general and government conduct. My take away is not that these judges are endorsing lying, they are endorsing the concept the government has certain responsibilities and when it over steps it should get the shit slapped out of it until it’s back where it belongs. “I think the 10-1 vote indicates that it was a farce,” said Bonds’ appellate lawyer, Dennis Riordan. “The greatest impact is the damage it undid. We had a panel opinion that said if you’re asked a question on page 78 and you digress before you answer it directly on page 81, you’re a federal felon.” In 2009 and ’10, the 9th Circuit ruled federal agents illegally seized urine samples and testing records of major league players, with Kozinski saying it “was an obvious case of deliberate overreaching by the government.” The 9th Circuit three-judge panel ruled… Read more »
This description of what they did sounds consistent with California law, which requires as an element of the crime (obstruction of justice) that the lie be material to some element of the case. The testimony has to be considered as a whole, and squirming by a witness until the witness is pressed to give a clear answer is no real basis for prosecution.
I like this only because; fuck Congress and these stupid ass investigations. They have significantly more important shit to do that would go a long way toward earning their fat paychecks and actually benefit Americans across the board. Investigating PEDs in professional sports is a fucking joke and waste of Congress’ time.
Ill stop there because I looked up and VOV already said it better.
My concern is this. In most investigations, from the first arrest interrogation room to later depositions to then Grand Juries, it is often the small details which lead investigators to the bigger details which ultimately lead to the convictions of those who REALLY need to be convicted. If this decision is taken all the way down to local LE agency interrogation procedures, every shit bag under the new “it is just a small thing, a little white lie or not germane to the case” ruling. I expect a person being investigated for a felony or anything for that matter to be evasive. That is where good investigation comes in to sort the bull shit from the truth. As far as Bonds goes, screw him with a Louisville Slugger, big end first. He’s just one of many using and making their careers and records off PEDs. I agree with VOV in that I don’t care for the sport. Watching the seasonal highlights of the greatest plays pretty much sums it up for me and saves me hours of watching guys spit tobacco and adjust their nuts all year. Same with most all pro sports involving overpaid, undereducated, often barely this side of upstanding citizens to say the least. Also in even bigger agreement with VOV, this country has far, far bigger issues to deal with than what the fuck professional ass hole sports figures are doing. Until we change from caring about Bonds and his ilk and Kim Kardashian and her whorish ilk and start thinking, analyzing and making changes to who RUNS this country and therefore controls out future in every aspect, we are just swirling faster as we head down the toilet. I do not know what it will take to change this nation’s current generation’s mindset. I have a notion, another 9/11. But I am hoping it doesn’t take that. In the meanwhile, maybe Kim can up her ratings for “Keeping Up With The Dimwit Whores, Queers and Transvestites of The Kardashians” show by letting Bonds fuck her in the ass. Hell, everyone else who doesn’t care of… Read more »
Its not often that I am in agreement with the 9th Circuit, but this one they got right.
The prosecutors were using the grand jury system as a work around by having Bonds testify as a witness, without the same access to council he would have received as a suspect.
The government was rightly slapped down in this case.
Libtards once again redefining the meaning of words.
I’m shocked.