Bonds' obstruction of justice conviction upheld By Sports Network

San Francisco, CA - Former slugger Barry Bonds had his obstruction of justice conviction upheld on Friday.

The verdict from a 12-member jury came down in mid-April, convicting Bonds of being evasive during his 2003 grand jury testimony in the BALCO case.

The decision was appealed by Bonds' lawyers, but U.S. District Judge Susan Illston upheld the ruling and denied the defendant's request for a new trial on that count.

"Having reconsidered the arguments made in support of defendant's motion for acquittal, and having considered the additional factors that defendant argues support his motion for a new trial, while weighing the evidence presented at trial and evaluating the credibility of the different witnesses, the Court concludes that the evidence does not preponderate against the verdict, and no new trial is required," Illston wrote in her 20-page order.

In April, the jury did not reach a verdict on three perjury charges that alleged Bonds lied to the grand jury when he denied that he knowingly used steroids. A mistrial was declared on those counts.

Bonds was originally indicted in November 2007, and the trial had been scheduled to start more than two years ago, but an appeal over evidence and subsequent motions set the start date back to late March.

A seven-time MVP, eight-time Gold Glove winner, 14-time All-Star and two-time batting champion, Bonds owns seven single-season major league records, most notably a 73-home run season in 2001 with the Giants and 762 career homers.

His final season ended a little more than a month before he was indicted.