Let me make these thoughts crystal clear but brief. The judge presiding over the Roger Clemens drug trial, Reggie Walton, is a hero. Period. Name one other person in recent weeks who stood up for principle and the law.
Judge Walton had previously ruled that the prosecutors’ showing of an incriminating interview with Mrs. Andy Pettitte was hearsay and would not be allowed in court. Lo and behold, in all of their stupidity, but probably due to their outright guile, the prosecutors showed another tape that “unintentionally” included Mrs. Pettitte’s interview. The defense was no more honorable than the prosecution: they did not even object, quickly figuring out that a mistrial might result. Sure enough, Judge Walton declared a mistrial, adamantly stating that “you can’t ‘unring’ the bell.” A decision as to whether or not there will be a new trial or that such a scenario would actually be double jeopardy will be forthcoming in a few weeks.
Millions of dollars of our tax dollars were spent on this trial. To what end? Steroids in sports is a pox. Athletes will partake in any substance, beneficial or not, legal or not, to keep that competitive edge and haul in the big bucks. But really, in the scope of the terrible problems our nation is currently facing, who the f*** cares about steroid use? With our deficit as record levels, what American citizen would agree to throw millions down the drain on this subject? To top it all off, that government prosecution team should be shot for using such illegal subterfuge to cause the expensive proceedings to be declared null and void.
My cousin, a huge baseball aficionado, had this to say about the mistrial:
Roger ….. a mistrial. Bonds guilty on a nothing count. Money well-spent by the government. No one really gives a shit about who is juiced. I know I don’t. I say let their heads get big and their nuts get tiny. The game was exciting during those days.
I agree, Cuz. However, if there are going to be legal proceedings to go after these players, the trials must be fair and honest. This is what Judge Walton upheld this week. His ruling was a statement on integrity and justice, two things sorely missing from the overall American way, whether the issue at hand involves sports or politics.
Maureen Dowd agrees with me on this issue:
http://www.nytimes.com/...
Hats off to Judge Reggie Walton for re-establishing the true American values of truth and justice and slamming shut the door on efforts to deceive.