South Carolina Criminal Lawyer Blog

The perjury trial of Barry Bonds has begun and the wasting of your tax dollars to prosecute what we all could care less about in this economy. The United States Attorney has a job to do and they at times do it well. It is difficult to convict many defendants that are sophisticated and can afford a great defense. In this case, the government is spending millions to stop Barry Bonds from ever lying to a grand jury again? Barry Bonds made one mistake, he opened his mouth. As with Martha Stewart, there seems to be some confusion about what the government can and cannot prove prior to any interview with a particular defendant. As in both of these cases the federal indictment is not based on some substantive violation of the federal code, but rather a lie to either the grand jury for federal law enforcement. In plain English, our government stands for the proposition," If you break the law, or we think you broke the law, we want you to go ahead and admit that you broke the law without us ever having to get any evidence besides your own words." The one caveat being, that you must be someone the government wants to get.
Barry Bonds is a great target. No well liked by most, defiant of authority and in general no a sympathetic person. Mr. Bonds's federal defense lawyer has had a few years to prepare for this case and I am sure the legal fees are in the millions by now. The more money you have for your defense the more of a chance you will have in federal court. There is no substitute for unlimited resources when in court. The federal government will spend millions and use every means necessary to convict Mr. Bonds. The criminal defense lawyer will need as much money and time as the government to defend this case. A good criminal defense lawyer spends hours, days, weeks, months and even years preparing for a federal trial. Our criminal defense lawyer in Charleston, South Carolina spends hundreds of hours preparing for federal trials each year.