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SAN FRANCISCO – Barry Bonds eventually sat crossways the suite room Monday from the 12 grouping who module determine whether or not the greatest home-run batsman of every instance lied most attractive drugs.

Following a daylong activity process, octad women and quaternary men were picked to center the federal government's housing against the 46-year-old past San Francisco Giants star, who is live with quaternary counts of lying to a grand commission and digit calculate of impediment for testifying in 2003 that he never knowingly utilised performance-enhancing drugs.

Among the jurors there was no insufficiency of instrument on baseball's Steroids Era or drugs in sports, though every indicated they could conception impartially in the housing of Bonds, who holds the records for bag runs in a career (762) and a season (73).

Juror No. 69 was furious Congress investigated steroids in sports "on my dime."

"They should be solving things same the national debt," he said.

He made it onto the panel, modify though he said Bonds had "probably not (received) a clean effort in the suite of open opinion."

Jurors were identified by number rather than name, and U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said their identities won't be revealed until the period after the verdict.

From the initial pool of possibleness jurors who filled discover 19-page questionnaires terminal week, Illston unemployed 38 based on answers, which included whether they had attended Giants games in the terminal five years, and whether they were old with the Mitchell Report on drugs in ballgame or congressional hearings into steroids use. Several were unemployed because they said they had bacilliform opinions on the case.

Another was dropped because of the modification of a gran terminal weekend, and digit more because they said commission duty would be a hardship. Illston denied threesome another misfortune requests.

Thirty-six underwent 70 transactions of questioning from Illston in the morning, and another distance from prosecutors and accumulation lawyers in the afternoon. After a break, Illston's salesperson feature the numbers of the chosen 12 and digit alternates — downbound from the quaternary originally intended. Two jurors, both women, are black and 10 are white in a housing that could wager vie embellish an issue.

Juror No. 24, an Air Force stager who was not selected, brought it up under questioning. "I pretty such conceive he was singled discover because of his race," the Negro said.

Juror No. 56, digit of the black women selected, said for ballgame and the NFL the "commissioner's office should care with" steroids. "I conceive it's up to them and not the polity to be involved," she said.

Bonds, who in his playing life easygoing by inclination backwards in his black, leather armchair in the crossway of the Giants clubhouse, was garbed in a Stygian suit, white shirt and silver tie and sat in a brown swivel lead most 20 feet from the determine on the 19th floor of the Phillip histrion agent Building. Bonds spent most of the period speaking quietly with his lawyers and hunting at the jurors as they answered questions.

A brief distance absent at the continuation table, his backwards to Bonds, was Jeff Novitzky, the federal agent who has pursued athletes over drug allegations for octad eld with dogged intensity. Bonds is the large grapheme to grappling effort because of his efforts.

Bonds' jural team, which spilled over to a lateral table and the prototypal row of spectator seats, outnumbered the government's 13-5. When his direct lawyers, comedienne Ruby and Cristina C. Arguedas, gave their names for the record, Illston responded: "Is that it?"

Bonds earned $192.8 meg from the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants during 23 professed seasons, including 22 in the majors, according to an psychotherapy of his contracts by The Associated Press, so it's no surprise he crapper give the prizewinning accumulation money crapper buy.

About a dozen photographers milled outside, but few fans were there to wager Bonds achievement into the courthouse.

Several jurors said they could keep an open mind modify though they had heard such most the housing because they believed media reports on Bonds either contained inaccuracies or omissions.

For some, though, the glare of this housing was likewise such to care with.

"I would be reluctant to intercommunicate a sentiment against a great athlete same Bonds," panellist No. 24, a single, 61-year-old Negro experience on impairment payments, told Illston. "It would color my judgment." He was not selected.

Juror No. 74 said her experience working as a grace meeter eld ago would attain it tough for her to be fair.

"I'm ease effort over my ballgame charters," she said.

So the transactions could be heard in digit others flat of the suite house, Illston's clerk, histrion Forakis, walked around with a handheld microphone for jurors to speak into.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gospels A. Parrella asked whether some jurors were Giants fans, and figure raised their hands. When Parrella asked whether the Giants were on trial, hour responded. Three jurors raised their safekeeping when asked whether Bonds was an inspiration or someone to countenance up to.

"He was a good ballgame contestant and everyone admired his hitting ability," panellist No. 94 said, adding that would not cause the litigator to be treated differently. The blackamoor was not selected.

Illston estimated the effort module verify most quaternary weeks.

When panellist No. 94 said she had a activate regular to move Apr 25, Illston patterned her calendar, looked up and said, in a somewhat astonied voice, "Well, you know, so do I."

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