Sports In the Courts Blog : New York Attorneys & Lawyers Specializing in Sports Law & Legal Analysis

If you listen to the Congressmen who presided over Roger Clemens’ ill-fated hearing, you will learn that Clemens demanded to testify to clear his name. Instead of exonerating himself, the Rocket coined the “misremember” phrase and got himself indicted. Nice work.

Now, as I write this, a jury is being selected to decide whether Clemens is guilty of perjury. The case is being tried in front of Judge Walton who is famous for sending convicted felons to jail (even if it’s only for a few months). This is the reality of the situation that may being glossed over the media.

We know that criminal juries can be unpredictable (see Casey Anthony), but that’s the nature of this business. There are no absolutes and it’s not a perfect science.

Clemens may get a favorable ruling that former players Andy Pettitte and Chuch Knoblauch can not testify that they got illegal PED’s from Brian McNamee. The judge apparently is fearful that this type of testimony could lead to a prejudicial “guilt by association” finding by the jury. Either way, Pettitte will be called to testify about what Clemens told him what his PED use and what he saw Clemens do.

Roger Clemens has always been a competitor but this is a very different arena and his fastball will not get him out of a jam. 

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If you missed the article by Kathleen O'Brien on nj.com, you should check it out.

Ms. O'Brien raises a series of very fair questions about Armstrong and his cancer history. It should be noted that Armstrong denies blood doping by using illegal performance enhancing drugs (PED's). But the claims of Armstrong using PED's is growing louder with his former teammates purportedly telling a federal grand jury of Armstrong's PED use.

Now I am no doctor, but there is enough literature concerning the use of PED's and their connection to being a rocket fuel for cancer. As Ms. O'Brien notes "what's the point of cancer screening, good nutrition. even raising money for research [as Armstrong has done] if cancer survivors feel free to tamper with their body's basic metabolism."

If Armstrong took PED's, then I will have a growing empty feeling that Lance's cancer may have been created or fueled by his own choices.

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With the San Francisco Giants leading the World Series 2-0, rumors have begun to fly regarding one of the members of their team and his failure to make the post season roster.  According to San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy, Jose Guillen has been excluded from the post season roster due to neck injuries.  On the other hand, speculation has swirled about the Giants holding Guillen from the post season roster due to an ongoing investigation linking Guillen to HGH shipments.  

The whole story is fairly ironic due to the fact that the Giants were the team that was plagued by performance enhancing drug rumors, accusations, and the dark cloud of Barry Bonds.  With the team on the brink of capturing its first World Series victory since 1954, performance enhancing drugs can stealing the spotlight.  According to reports, federal authorities informed Major League Baseball there is an ongoing investigation involving Jose Guillen.  Major League Baseball has also opened an investigation regarding Guillen and the shipments.  Look for more details to emerge in the coming days. Guillen, a career .270 hitter with 214 HRS and 887 RBI's, has had an injury plagued career and anger management issues.  At this point it is pure speculation, but so far in the age of performance enhancing drugs and HGH in baseball, where there is smoke, there is fire.

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Yesterday, former Red Sox and Yankee star pitcher entered a plea of not guilty to federal perjury and obstruction of Congress charges. This story was widely reported but little was mentioned about what happens with Clemens' case between now and the April 5, 2011 trial date.

Well, it may not be front page news but the defense now gets to conduct document discovery from the prosecution. Until this moment, the defense likely possessed very few official reports held by the government, but this is about to radically change.

Clemens' defensive team is basically entitled to a copy of the prosecutor's file. This means the defense will now have access to investigative reports, police reports, witness statements, and grand jury testimony. This information is critical for the defense lawyers to develop their plan of attack against the government's case. However, these documents should also go a long way in showing how strong the prosecution's case against the Rocket may be.

We know Clemens has turned down a plea bargain that didn't carry jail time. After Roger reviews the "care package" he is about to get from the Feds, I wonder if he will have any second thoughts. 

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With all the fast and furious news about former Red Sox, Astro, Blue Jay and Yankee star pitcher Roger Clemens being indicted on perjury charges, we wanted to take a moment to calm down and reflect. Once again, let's repeat that Clemens has been found guilty of nothing and maintains his innocence of all of the federal felony charges against him. But, upon some thinking, we wonder if he knows that the count against him is 0 and 2. Let's go to the instant legal replay.

Strike One: Clemens, under no obligation (and no subpoena) chose to testify in front of Congress where he story fell apart after his former trainer, Brian McNamee swore that no only did he inject Clemens with steroids, he even kept the needles. Making it worse for Clemens, two-time Astro and Yankee pitcher Andy Pettite (another admitted PED user) confirmed McNamee's account and also said Clemens admitted to him that he used PED's.

Strike Two: Clemens sues McNamee for defamination. The Rocket's case quickly backfires when a judge decided that it had no merit and was dismissed faster then you can say "no Hall of Fame."

And the Wind-Up: Clemens, throwing caution to the wind, calls a Boston radio station to give an interview (besides his tweets) and says that he will have "his day" in court. That is Clemens' right but their is a chance he will lose. Given, Clemens recent history in legal proceedings and the proof the government may have, a called Strike Three could mean that he will be the best player on the federal prison's softball team (for at leat 15 to 21 months).  

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Philadelphia Phillies prospect Tyson Gillies was arrested in Clearwater, Florida this morning and charged with felony cocaine possession.  The arrest stems from an incident that occurred this past June.  

The incident that led to the arrest involved Gillies waving down motorists outside of his car on the shoulder of U.S. 19 in Clearwater, being picked up by a passing officer for a courtesy ride to his hotel, and forgetting his stash of "white powder" on the officer's seat when he left the vehicle.  The "white powder' tested positive for cocaine on August 19th and the arrest was made today, August 20th. 

Gillies was a part of this past season's Cliff Lee trade between the Seattle Mariners and the Philadelphia Phillies.  Gillies was released on a $2,000 bond. 

With the continuous talk about HGH and Performance Enhancing Drug testing in minor league baseball, it looks like these athletes are engaging in the use of more common drugs still.  Let's see how the Phillies and Major League Baseball handle this one.

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Well, its been less then a day since former New York Yankee and Boston Red Sox star pitcher, Roger Clemens, was indicted on 15 different counts of perjury, obstructing the Congress of the United States and interfering with a Congressional investigation and already Clemens' defense team is putting out a lot of questionable information (an some usual nonsense). So let's do a little legal housekeeping.

First, although every criminal defense attorney says it (and the Clemens team is no exception), an indictment is not "meaningless" and not "proof of nothing." A felony indictment is proof that a grand jury found "reasonable cause" to believe that a crime was committed and Clemens is the one who did it. While this is not the "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" needed for a conviction, it is all the proof required to bring Clemens to trial. An indictment is not "meaningless" because it becomes the "charging instrument" to which Clemens must enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.

Second, Clemens' lawyers are suggesting that this prosecution is on something of a "witch hunt" or saga against their client. Whether Clemens is guilty or not will not be decided for a long time, but make no mistake, the Democratic AND Republican Congressman who heard Clemens' testimony and his former trainer, Brian McNamee's testimony believed Clemens had lied. In a era when the political parties can't agree on the day of the week, the Congressional request for the US Attorney to investigate Clemens for perjury came for BOTH parties.

Lastly, Clemens is tweeting about his innocence. In my opinion, this is beyond reckless and shows that Clemens is out of control. The government is collecting everything he is writing and will try to use any mistake he may make against him.

Roger, this is what you have lawyers for, stop tweeting, facebooking and talking and start getting ready for the fight of your life.  

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Earlier this afternoon a grand jury returned an indictment against Roger Clemens for lying to Congress during his disastrous testimony. It appears that Clemens may face 15 to 21 months and additional fines if convicted. We expect Clemens through his lawyers will enter a plea of not guilty to the charges.

During his testimony before Congress, Clemens seemed like an out of control client who didn't or wouldn't listen to his lawyers. Unfortunately for Clemens, his former trainer (Brian McNamee) told a more believable story and brought some physical evidence to show Clemens' steroid use.

Maybe he will listen now and find a way not to misremember the truth. We will have much more on this case and we will follow it closely.

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