Bonds Trial Update: The Prosecution's Big Gamble
When I was a young prosecutor, I was told never to over-try a criminal case. Sometimes less is more and overkill can lead to a shaky witness getting crushed on cross-exam.Last week, the prosecution decided to shorten it's case against Bonds by more than a 7 days. There can be several reasons for this decision. While courtroom observers can disagree whether the case against Bonds is going well, the prosecution must believe their case can't get any better. This doesn't mean the government is overconfident, it only could mean that they are less comfortable with their other witnesses (who could blow up).
The other benefit of shortening the case for the prosecution is that it puts immediate pressure on the defense. Bonds' attorneys will have much less time to prepare their case and will be forced to make difficult decisions on how much of a defense presentation to give the jury.
Once the defense case starts, for the first time, the prosecution can take the gloves off and come out swinging at the slugger's own witnesses.
My name is Christopher Fusco. I am the managing partner of Callahan & Fusco, LLC with offices in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.