An 11-judge federal appeals court panel appeared on the verge of reversing a felony obstruction of justice conviction of former MLB slugging star, and suspected PED abuser, Barry Bonds following a Friday hearing.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals whaled away at government lawyers about their case against Bonds, three years after the former San Francisco slugger was convicted for giving a stream of bumbling, wandering, seemingly evasive statements to a 2003 federal grand jury investigating illegal steroid sales in the Balco scandal.

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Based on testimony Bonds gave in 2003 about Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or Balco, steroid sales, he was charged in 2007 by a federal grand jury of obstruction along with four counts of perjury. Delayed by numerous appeals, trial originally was set for 2009, but began in 2011.

While Bonds was convicted of obstruction in April, 2011, a mistrial was declared on perjury charges when the jury couldn't come to a consensus. Prosecutors didn't retry the perjury charges.

Bonds was sentenced to 30 days of house arrest, two years probation, 250 hours of community youth service and a US$4,000 fine by U.S. District Judge Susan Illston. He served 30 days at his Southern California home wearing an ankle monitoring device. The remainder of the sentence was put on hold by Illston awaiting the outcome of this appeal.

Bonds went into expansive, roundabout answers to grand jury questions generally requiring no more than a yes or no. However, appeals court justices Friday emphasized through tough questioning that the answers may have been evasive, but if they were truthful, how could Bonds be convicted of obstruction or perjury? 

A majority of appeals court justices went hard at government attorneys. They called the obstruction case "absolutely alarming" and seemed especially troubled by the fact the supposedly misleading statements he made weren't even part of the indictment.

Justices also exhibited considerable sarcasm, noting that prisons would be overflowing with lawyers if giving evasive, or rambling, answers to simple questions were prosecuted in every case.

TagsBarry Bonds, ped's, performance enhancing drugs, steroids, balco, fedewral appeals court, justice, Baseball, mlb, U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, San Francisco, San Francisco Giants, Baseball