Appeals court agrees to reconsider Barry Bonds' felony conviction

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed on Tuesday to reconsider Barry Bonds' bid to have his 2011 felony obstruction of justice conviction in connection with the BALCO steroids investigation overturned. 

The 49-year-old Bonds was convicted for being evasive while answering questions under oath, and his appeal was upheld in the Circuit Court in September 2013. 

But Bonds, who wants to clear his name after seeing his career become tarnished by the investigation, asked the 9th Circuit to rehear his case. His petition was pending for more than six months and needed a majority vote of the court's 29 full-time judges, reports the Mercury News. 

"Mr. Bonds' challenge to his conviction is alive and well," said Dennis Riordan, Bonds' appellate attorney. "A majority of the (court's) active judges have concluded that the issues raised by Mr. Bonds ... deserve greater consideration."

Argument in the case has been set for mid-September by the Court. 

More from the Mercury News:

Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor, called it a "positive sign" for Bonds, although he pointed out that 9th Circuit rehearings can be unpredictable -- other than the chief judge, the other 10 judges are randomly assigned from the court's roster.

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—Molly Geary