Judge Unhappy on First Day of Roger Clemens Trial
A former hero of America’s favorite pastime faced an unhappy judge on Wednesday, during the beginning of pre-trial proceedings where he has been charged with six felony counts.
Roger Clemens, a well-known former Major League Baseball pitcher, is being accused of lying to the House of Representatives in a 2008 court proceeding about taking performance enhancing drugs.
Brian McNamee, Clemens’ former trainer, said he injected the former pitcher with steroids on multiple occasions. The trainer is expected to appear on the stand to testify against Clemens.
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The first day of Clemens’ pre-trial began at 8:30 a.m. with the intention of selecting a jury. The scheduled proceedings were sidetracked by the presiding U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton who was frustrated with a lack of evidence.
The House of Representatives claimed to have audio of Clemens’ 2008 statement of denial concerning drug use. However, the tape was not submitted for evidence during the trial.
Judge Walton raised his voice when expressing frustration about the missing audio tape, which Clemens’ team said could prove his innocence. Although there were moments of frustration during the first day of court proceedings, potential jurors answered questions to eliminate any biased individuals.
Although Walton said he would like for the jury selection to take three days, taking time to speak about evidence concerns may have slowed down the process.
Out of 125 people, the jury needs to be narrowed down to 12 individuals and 8 backups.
If convicted Clemens may face up to 30 years in prison with a fine of $1.5 million. However, without a criminal record, it would be highly unlikely that he would serve the full time.
Clemens had a 24-year major-league career and has been recognized as the ninth best pitcher of all time. Throughout his career he played for MLB teams in Boston, Toronto, Houston and New York.
