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ByPaulElias TheAssociatedPress SAN FRANCISCO Barry Bonds may yet overturn his obstruction of justice con- viction. Several members of an 11-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Ap- peals expressed skepticism Thursday over the sole count that baseball's ca- reer home run leader was found guilty of following a trial three years ago. Circuit Judge William A. Fletcher called the pros- ecution's definition of ob- struction "alarming" be- cause Bonds ultimately an- swered questions before a grand jury about whether he was given drugs to in- ject himself with, an as- sertion he denied. Fletcher compared it with lawyers who evaded questions in civil litigation with the in- tent to mislead, and asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Merry Jean Chan whether that would be criminal be- havior. Chan said she be- lieved it would. "So how many San Fran- cisco lawyers do you intend to put in jail?" Fletcher said. "That is common behav- ior in civil litigation. Have you just criminalized half the bar here? ... I find your reading of the statute ab- solutely alarming, and half the bar, maybe three-quar- ters, maybe all of the bar is in big trouble." A decision is not ex- pected until next year. During an hour-long hearing, Circuit Judge Su- san P. Graber had similar skepticism for prosecutors' arguments that Bonds in- tended to mislead the grand jury, saying she doesn't see "there is sufficient evi- dence" because Bonds was asked and answered simi- lar questions about drug use later during his 2003 testimony. After a three-week trial in 2011, the jury failed to reach a verdict on three counts charging Bonds with making false state- ments when he denied re- ceiving steroids and hu- man growth hormone from trainer Greg Ander- son and denied receiving injections from Anderson or his associates. Prosecu- tors later dismissed those three charges. Bonds was convicted for giving a rambling answer to a question about whether he received injectable sub- stances. Bonds' appellate lawyer, Dennis Riordan, argued that Bonds' "unresponsive" answer did not constitute obstruction. He was imme- diately met with questions on his logic. "One can mislead with the truth," Chief Judge Alex Kozinski said. "One can mislead with irrelevant statements to lead a grand jury down a blind alley." Chan argued that Bonds had a "corrupt intent" to mislead the grand jury with the rambling answer. A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit upheld Bonds' obstruction convic- tion in a unanimous vote last year, but a majority of the court's 28 participating judges voted to set aside that decision and have the larger group rehear the ap- peal. Prosecutors asked Bonds during the grand jury ap- pearance whether Ander- son ever gave him "any- thing that required a sy- ringe to inject yourself with?" Bonds referred to his fa- ther, former major leaguer Bobby Bonds, when he re- sponded, "I was a celebrity child, not just in baseball by my own instincts. I became a celebrity child with a fa- mous father. I just don't get into other people's business because of my father's situ- ation, you see." Bonds answered "no" to similar questions later in his grand jury appearance, which Riordan argued was sufficient to cure any non-responsive answers. Some of the judges ques- tioned whether Bonds had sufficient notice of what he was being charged with, since the third super- seding indictment con- tained a broad obstruc- tion charge and the spe- cific statement was not included until the prose- cution proposed jury in- structions about a month ahead of the trial. The three-judge 9th Cir- cuit panel ruled unani- mously in September 2013 that Bonds' testimony was "evasive" and capable of misleading investigators and hindering their probe into a performance-enhanc- ing drug ring centered at the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative. "The statement served to divert the grand jury's at- tention away from the rele- vant inquiry of the investi- gation, which was Anderson and BALCO's distribution of steroids and PEDs," Se- nior Circuit Judge Mary M. Schroeder wrote. "The statement was therefore evasive." Barry Bonds has already served his sentence of 30 days of home confinement and paid a $4,000 fine. He was also placed on two years of probation and or- dered to perform 250 hours of community service in youth-related activities. APPEALS COURT Panel reconsidering Bonds' conviction Decision on if obstruction charge gets overturned not expected till next year ERICRISBERG—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Nearly 11years a er Barry Bonds testified before a grand jury investigating the illegal distribution of performance- enhancing drugs, a group of judges heard arguments Thursday on whether baseball's home-run leader should have his obstruction of justice conviction thrown out. "So how many San Francisco lawyers do you intend to put in jail? That is common behavior in civil litigation." — Circuit Judge William A. Fletcher. TURNHEADSTHISFALLWHENYOUSHOWUPINAHOTNEWCAR,TRUCKORSUV! BEST PRICES BEST PEOPLE BEST SERVICE Welcometoaworldwhereeveryvehicleispricedtosaveyoumoney! We're ushering in the new season with hard-hitting deals on your favorite new and pre-owned vehicles. Come in today and we'll put your car-buying game plan into action with solid savings and strategic financing options. 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