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Roger Clemens indicted for perjury, obstruction


Balta1701

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Based on anonymous sources, the New York Times is reporting that the Department of Justice is ready to indict Roger Clemens on charges that he perjured himself while testifying under oath before Congress.

Federal authorities have decided to indict Roger Clemens on charges of making false statements to Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs, according to two people briefed on the matter.

 

An announcement is expected shortly.

 

The indictment comes nearly two and half years after Clemens and his former trainer Brian McNamee testified under oath at a hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, directly contradicting each other about whether Clemens had used the banned substances.

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QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 19, 2010 -> 01:43 PM)
Perjury charges flat out take forever.

 

They should, they are difficult to prove. The feds must be confident (but aren't they always). This kind of puts Dombrowki's recent comments about there being a lot more evidence to come out against Roger in a possible new light.

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Former baseball star Roger Clemens was indicted for allegedly lying to Congress during his 2008 testimony before a House committee regarding steroids in baseball.

 

He is charged with one count of obstruction of Congress, three counts of making false statements and two counts of perjury, according to federal officials. The charges stem from his February 2008 testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

 

Clemens, 48, faces a combined maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine, but under the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, the range of imprisonment is presently 15-21 months, said the U.S. Attorney's office for the District of Columbia.

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Clemens case declared a mistrial after prosecutorial misconduct.

The judge declared a mistrial Thursday in baseball star Roger Clemens' perjury trial after prosecutors showed jurors evidence that the judge had ruled out of bounds.

 

U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said Clemens could not be assured a fair trial after prosecutors showed jurors evidence against his orders in the second day of testimony.

 

Walton scheduled a Sept. 2 hearing to determine whether to hold a new trial. Rusty Hardin, Clemens' attorney, said he needs until July 29 to file the motion for the hearing. The prosecution has until Aug. 2 to respond.

 

Walton told jurors he was sorry to have wasted their time and spent so much taxpayer money, only to call off the case.

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Now that the trial has been terminated, the primary question that arises is whether double jeopardy would apply. The Fifth Amendment protects citizens from being prosecuted twice for the same crime. In a criminal case jeopardy generally attaches once the jury has been empanelled. In the Clemens case, the jury was empanelled and the government had already called multiple witnesses when they introduced the inadmissible evidence.

 

While jeopardy attached, Judge Walton's decision to declare a mistrial will likely allow the government to re-try the case. In US vs. Perez (22 U.S. 579), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a second trial does not violate a defendant's constitutional rights as long as the trial judge has declared a mistrial in the first proceeding based on "manifest necessity." The Court did not have a specific formula for determining this necessity other than to say the trial judge needed to exercise sound discretion.

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Andy Pettitte is on the stand in Clemens's re-trial the last couple days. He's the prosecution's star witness because he can state that Clemens told him he was juicing. Clemens's defense is claiming that pettitte misremembered the conversation. Today, Pettitte admitted under oath that it's possible he misremembered or misheard the statement. This might well destroy the prosecution's case a 2nd time.

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