Barry Bonds' defense team today was unable to squeeze out of the government its plans on a retrial.
The Bonds players appeared in court for the first time since a jury in April convicted the slugger of obstructing justice. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston brought the gang together to settle a scheduling battle that had been brewing. She sided with prosecutors, who got another six weeks to fight Bonds' motion to vacate the conviction. And they got to leave without revealing their plans for retrying him on the perjury counts on which the jury deadlocked.
So it will be another two months before we know if Illston will junk the count that the defense has called a "felony prolixity" or order a new trial.
Defense attorney Allen Ruby pressed for an answer to the retrial decision, asking if he could inquire through the court about the government's plans.
No dice.
Illston curtly told him he could ask the government that question directly whenever he'd like, and suggested that the government surely needed more time to consider such an important decision.
"Don't you think that's right?" Illston snapped.
Ruby sheepishly noted that it was just 9:31 a.m. -- a minute into the hearing -- and that he'd "already overstepped." However, he said, "I don't think that's right."
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