Stupid ass prosecutors!
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/07/judge-declares-mistrial-in-roger-clemens-perjury-case/1The judge has declared a mistrial in the Roger Clemens perjury case, the Associated Press reports.
U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton in Washington said Clemens could not be assured a fair trial after prosecutors showed jurors evidence against his orders in the second day of testimony.
Walton scheduled a Sept. 2 hearing to determine whether to hold a new trial.
Clemens is accused of perjury in denying to a Congressional committee that he had used steroids.
Update at 12:21 p.m. ET: "There are rules that we play by and those rules are designed to make sure both sides receive a fair trial," Walton told the jury, saying such ground rules are critically important when a person's liberty is at stake.
He said that because prosecutors broke his rules, "the ability with Mr. Clemens with this jury to get a fair trial with this jury would be very difficult if not impossible."
Update at 12:07 p.m. ET: NBC Justice correspondent Pete Williams says the evidence involved an affidavit to Congress by the Laura Pettitte, wife of former Clemens teammate Andy Pettitte. But the judge had ruled that the material could not be included because it involved hearsay evidence.
When the prosecution showed a video of a member of Congress reading portions of her testimony, the judge stopped the proceedings, Williams reports. That, in turn, led to the mistrial declaration.
Update at 12:01 p.m. ET: Prosecutors suggested the problem could be fixed with an instruction to the jury to disregard the evidence, but Walton seemed skeptical.
He said he could never know what impact the evidence would have during the jury's deliberations "when we've got a man's liberty at interest."