Charges ruled too broad against Barry Bonds

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Barry Bonds won an initial courtroom skirmish on Friday when a federal judge found that steroid perjury charges against him were improperly structured, a finding that complicates the government case against the U.S. baseball home run king.

The judge also ordered that the slugger's testimony to a grand jury about past steroid use be unsealed. Previously, only excerpts had been made public.

"At this moment this is not a valid indictment on any of the five counts," said defense attorney Dennis Riordan. "The rules say you cannot charge two crimes inside one count."

But "no one believes that it is necessarily the end of the process."

Bonds' lawyers said the U.S. Justice Department made overly broad arguments against the seven-time league Most Valuable Player in four counts of perjury charges. He also faced a fifth obstruction of justice charge.

The court found the government had made duplicitous charges, which in legal lingo means they included two or more offenses into a single count. To proceed against Bonds, prosecutors will have to file new charges.

To the surprise of some observers, Judge Susan Illston, whose San Francisco courtroom has become a focus of professional sports steroid cases in recent years, granted the defense motion.

Illston will consider the next steps at a hearing in three weeks. Meanwhile, the government has to decide how to proceed with the case and may have to prepare new charges.

A spokesman for prosecutors did not immediately respond to requests for reaction.

The ruling is the second time in recent weeks the government has stumbled in the case. Earlier in February, prosecutors said they had made two typographical errors when alleging they had evidence Bonds failed a drug test in November 2001, after he set the single-season record with 73 home runs.

After wide media coverage, a day later they submitted a corrected filing referring to November 2000.

BONDS WORKING OUT AS LAWYERS FIGHT

The case alleges Bonds lied in 2003 when he told a federal grand jury investigating the BALCO lab behind closed doors that he had never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs. In December 2007, he pleaded not guilty.

In January, defense lawyers alluded to Bonds' reputation as an skilled hitter in their arguments challenging how the government structured its charges. "Even Barry Bonds cannot be expected to make contact with a fastball, slider, and knuckler thrown him simultaneously," his lawyers said in court papers, referring to different types of baseball pitches.

Bonds was not in court on Friday. In his first public comments this year, Bonds on his Web site on Thursday did not refer to the scandal.

"This winter has been the first time in my career that I've had the chance to take time for myself and really enjoy the time off," he wrote in a short posting. "I continue to work out and feel in great shape."

Bonds is still hoping to sign with a new team for the 2008 season after the San Francisco Giants, for whom he had played since 1993, did not renew his contract.

In addition to the criminal charges, Bonds has a reputation for a surly demeanor, a high price tag and uncertain ability at age 43 -- past the retirement age of many other players.

Last season, Bonds surpassed Hank Aaron, the former career Major League home run champ, and finished the season seven homers ahead at 762.

Along with Bonds, the greatest long-ball hitter of his generation, Roger Clemens, the best pitcher of his era, is under suspicion in the ever widening sports steroid scandal. This week the FBI said it was investigating whether the seven-time Cy Young award winner lied to the U.S. Congress when he denied using performance-enhancing drugs.

(Editing by Philip Barbara)