SAN FRANCISCO – Slugger Barry Bonds will stand trial on federal perjury charges in March.
Bonds' legal team, federal prosecutors and U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston agreed during a brief hearing Friday to begin the trial on March 21. They also hashed out a schedule to file legal documents and to hold pretrial hearings to shape what the jury will see and hear during the three-week trial.
Bonds' initial February 2009 trial date was delayed at the last minute when prosecutors appealed the judge's ruling excluding vital evidence. The prosecutors ultimately lost that appeal and have decided to go ahead with the trial anyway.
The former San Francisco Giant has pleaded not guilty to charges he lied to a grand jury in December 2003 when he denied knowingly taking performance-enhancing drugs.
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