Judge delays ruling on Bonds appeal

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- A U.S. judge brought about another delay Thursday in a bid by defense attorneys to overturn Barry Bonds' obstruction of justice conviction in April.

The conviction revolved around an answer he gave to a grand jury eight years ago concerning whether his personal trainer had ever given him substances that required the use of a syringe. Prosecutors said the answer Bonds gave to the question was misleading to the jurors.

Baseball's all-time home run leader had also been charged with three counts of perjury for allegedly lying to the grand jury about steroid use, but the jury wound up deadlocked on all three counts.

Bonds' attorneys then moved to have the obstruction of justice conviction reversed and the appeal landed in the court of U.S. District Judge Susan Illston. She told the attorneys at the end of a brief hearing Thursday she would issue a ruling in the appeal, but did not set a timetable for doing so.

The U.S. attorney's office has not yet announced whether a retrial would be sought concerning the three deadlocked counts of perjury.