Although the government was fairly decimated following Dr. Arthur Ting's testimony, they rebounded with a little bit of luck with Barry Bonds' former personal assistant Kathy Hoskins. Although the government is highly unlikely to get guilty verdicts on all five counts in the Barry Bonds perjury and obstruction of justice trial, Hoskins testimony might be enough to get them at least one guilty verdict.
Hoskins is Steve Hoskins brother. She has known Barry Bonds since they were both in middle school and apparently she actually asked and took him to her Sadie Hawkins dance. That probably qualified as one of the more amusing moments of the trial. However, things got a bit more intense as Hoskins described her dealings with Barry and the subsequent breakdown of Bonds' relationship with the Hoskins siblings.
The most important part of Hoskins testimony was that she saw Barry receive an injection from Greg Anderson in 2002. This is pertinent because the second count of perjury on the indictment revolves around whether Barry has received an injection from anybody other than the team physician or his personal physician. The key question and and answer from his grand jury testimony was (pertinent questions and answers in bold):
Q: So no one else other than perhaps the team doctor and your personal physician has ever injected anything in to you or taken anything out?
A: Well, there's other doctors from surgeries. I can answer that question, if you're getting technical like that. Sure, there are other people that have stuck needles in me and have drawn out -- I've had a bunch of surgeries, yes.
Q: So --
A: So sorry.
Q: -- the team physician, when you've had surgery, and your own personal physician. But no other individuals like Mr. Anderson or any associates of his?
A: No, no.
If the jury believes Hoskins when she said she saw Anderson inject Bonds, then they have to find him guilty. Heading into Hoskins testimony, media members around me figured she'd be like her brother and get torn apart on cross examination. However, Kathy Hoskins was basically the 180 degree opposite of her brother on the witness stand.
She was incredibly confident and actually did a good job of distancing herself from her brother. She emphasized that he had brought her name up to the government, which led to them subpoenaing her to testify. She cried at least twice when discussing the problems between her brother and Barry. Whereas Kimberly Bell's tears seemed a bit contrived the longer she was on the witness, Hoskins actually came across as incredibly broken up by the turn of events between her family and Bonds. She first broke down when discussing how Barry didn't want Steve at Bobby Bonds funeral, which took place not long after Barry accused Steve of theft. The second break down came at the end. Kathy was asked how she felt about testifying and she said she had been put in the middle of this.
At this point I think it would be a bit of an upset if Bonds beat the rap on the second count of perjury. Hoskins was arguably the most effective government witness in terms of substantive testimony. She held up well under cross examination and seems like someone the jury would instill a sense of trust. If that's the case, the very fabric of our legal system would require them to find Bonds guilty on count two.
At the same time, the rest of the counts are a bit more difficult. Kathy did testify that when asked about what he was taking Bonds said that it was "a little something, something for when I go on the road. Can't detect it, can't catch it." I don't know if that's enough to overcome the disastrous Steve Hoskins and Arthur Ting testimony. Throw in questionable Kimberly Bell testimony and it is a tough call for the jury. Count five is an obstruction of justice charge in which the jury must find that Bonds:
[D]id corruptly influence, obstruct, and impede, and endeavor to corruptly influence, obstruct, and impede, the due administration of justice, by knowingly giving material Grand Jury testimony that was intentionally evasive, false, and misleading, including but not limited to the false statements made by the defendant as charged in Counts One through Four of this indictment.
If they can get Bonds on count two, I suppose the obstruction of justice charge really comes into play. Of course, given the bumbling of the government thus far, it's possible they could blow that charge as well. The trial is technically scheduled through April 21, but it sounds like it will likely end in the middle of next week. The government will finish up with Dr. Catlin and might rest their case at that point. That will be followed by a reading of the grand jury testimony into the official record. After that the defense will present its case, which could consist entirely of a steroids side effects expert. Other than that we might be at closing arguments by Tuesday.
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