Former Major League Baseball player Barry Bonds arrives at federal court for a sentencing hearing on December 16, 2011 in San Francisco, California.

Fallen baseball star Barry Bonds was sentenced to serve 30 days of house arrest for lying to a grand jury back in 2003 about his alleged steroid use.

Bonds, who holds the record for the most home runs ever in a single season, was indicted in 2007 on a number of charges after he lied to officials, saying that he never knowingly took any steroids or other illegal performance enhancing drugs.

He was found guilty in April of this year of felony obstruction of justice, and on Friday (Dec 16), California Judge Susan Illston ordered the hall of famer to complete 250 hours of community service, pay a $4,000 fine, serve a two-year probation sentence, and undergo location monitoring/home confinement for one month.

Bonds, who previously faced up to 21 months behind bars, reportedly plans on appealing his conviction.

Looks like O.J. Simpson wasn’t the only one dealing with the courts this week. Former pro-baseball player Barry Bonds won it big in court Friday (Jun 11) when a federal appeals court threw out evidence provided by the government that Bonds lied about using steroids. The San Francisco-based 9th Circuit U.S. court of Appeals ruled out urine samples and other evidence the government attempted to use in its perjury case against Bonds.

Bonds was indicted in federal court in December 2008 on 10 counts of making false statements to a grand jury — specifically, denying that he knowingly took steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. His criminal trial has been delayed while the legal issues are being worked out. It was unclear whether the Justice Department will now appeal to the Supreme Court in an effort to allow the evidence to be used in court. The Appeals Court ruling upholds a February 2009 ruling from U.S. District Judge Susan Illston that there was no proof that positive steroid tests from 2000 and 2001 were Bonds’ and that out-of-court statements from his former trainer, Greg Anderson, are hearsay. The appeals court majority said the repeated refusal of Anderson to testify against Bonds means evidence allegedly gathered by him is considered “inadmissible, since he would be unable to vouch for its authenticity.”

Robert Talbot, a professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law said the ruling essentially torpedoes the prosecution’s case, which was heavily dependent on evidence and information from Bonds’ former trainer. “There was a link missing here, that the only way to get down to the nitty-gritty that this was from Barry Bonds was using hearsay testimony,” Talbot said. Anderson, he said, “had possession of the evidence and he had that knowledge, and you can’t use that knowledge unless he actually testifies under oath. To try and prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, particularly in San Francisco where there are going to be many, many people chosen for a jury who would be behind Barry Bonds — it should be the death knell,” Talbot said. “Practically speaking they should say, ‘We gave it our best shot, and it’s just not there,’” he said.

Anderson allegedly took urine samples and delivered them to a Bay-area lab known as BALCO. At issue in the appeal was whether the tested samples actually came from Bonds, and Anderson’s employment status at the time. The appeals court concluded Anderson was an “independent contractor” — not directly hired by Bonds. Because Bonds also did not control the samples, the court reasoned, Anderson would need to testify in person on the material and the chain of possession. The government said it would instead bring BALCO executive James Valente to the stand to testify Anderson told him the samples indeed came from Bonds.

The court ultimately agreed with the arguments presented by Bonds’ lawyers. “Because the government was attempting to use Anderson’s out-of-court statements to prove the truth of what they contained, Bonds argued that Anderson’s statements were inadmissible hearsay and that the lab results could not be authenticated as Bonds’ in that manner.”

Bonds hit a record-setting 73 homers in the 2001 season. That same year, as well as before and after, the FBI said BALCO Laboratories recorded urine and blood tests, under the name “Barry Bonds,” showing “positive” results for steroids and performance-enchancing drugs. The government had the burden of showing the samples came from Bonds, then went to Anderson and then to BALCO. Anderson has refused to testify and has been jailed for contempt of court on several occasions. “There must be at least some manifestation of assent to the principal’s right to control,” said the court of Bonds. “Here, the testing was performed on Anderson’s own initiative and not at the request of Bonds. The dissent incorrectly assumes otherwise. Thus, the district court did not abuse its discretion in finding that Anderson was not an agent for the limited purpose of the drug testing.” The government alleges BALCO helped supply Bonds with steroids and drug-masking substances. BALCO was accused of covertly marketing tetrahydrogestrinone — known as “the Clear” — a then-undetectable performance-enhancing steroid.

Company founder Victor Conte and associates such as Anderson allegedly supplied other top athletes with the Clear and human growth hormone, assuring the competitors they would not be caught cheating. The lab performed repeated tests on athletes, said the government, to check whether the drugs were detectable. Top professional football and track stars were caught up in the scandal, prosecutors say.

Steroid use was banned by Major League Baseball in 2003. Neither the government nor Bonds had an immediate reaction to the ruling. In light of the decision, it remains unclear whether the criminal trail will proceed.

The case is U.S. v. Bonds (09-10079).

CNN

Lots of celebrities came out for the premiere of Sony Pictures‘ newest movie “Death At A Funeral” Monday night (Apr 12) at Arclight Cinema in Los Angeles.

Folks like Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, Martin Lawrence, Ciara, Zoe Saldana, Ne-Yo and more all walked the red carpet and took a lot of pictures for the paparazzi. Peep pics from the red carpet and inside the premiere below and when you continue reading…

Tennis phenom Serena Williams was seen out and about doing some shopping at designer store True Religion on Robertson Blvd Tuesday (Jun 9) in Los Angeles.

Actor Samuel L. Jackson was spotted as he arrived at the Hakkasan Restaurant Wednesday (Jun 10) in London, England.

Actor Flex Alexander was also spotted arriving at London’s Hakkasan Restaurant Wednesday (Jun 10).

Baseball legend Barry Bonds was seen out doing some shopping on Robertson Blvd in Los Angeles Wednesday (Jun 10).

Singer Lionel Richie was spotted outside of the Dorchester hotel Wednesday (Jun 10) in London, England.

Michael Jackson was spotted as he and his entourage of police escorts left a medical building Tuesday (Jun 9) in Los Angeles. His people swear up and down that he doesn’t have skin cancer but why is he always leaving medical buildings with masks covering his face? Not to mention how he’s always toting an umbrella to avoid direct sunlight. Something’s just not right…

Here former talk show host Montel Williams can be seen outside of his Manhattan hotel Tuesday (Jun 9) in New York.

PHOTOS: WENN

Jack Nicholson (pictured above) enjoying Sunday’s Lakers game with his son, Raymond Nicholson. Professional baseball player Barry Bonds was there sitting courtside as well. Check out 3 photos of him below.

Actor Martin Lawrence along with actress Raven Symone made an appearance on the red carpet at the premiere of their new movie, “College Road Trip” at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. Other celebrities who showed their faces include Kym Whitley, Donny Osmond, Barry Bonds, and more.

College Road Trip is an upcoming film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. The movie will star Raven Symone (also serving as executive producer) as a college-bound teen named Melanie Porter, who goes on a road trip to different colleges with her father, a police officer, played by Martin Lawrence. Check out more photos from the Hollywood premiere after the cut.

“During the criminal investigation, evidence was obtained including positive tests for the presence of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances for Bonds and other athletes,” the indictment read, according to the Associated Press.

Bonds attorney John Burris was skeptical of the investigation’s findings. “I’m surprised,” he said, “but there’s been an effort to get Barry for a long time. I’m curious what evidence they have now they didn’t have before.”

Bonds, who hit home run number 756 on August 7th of this year, surpassing Hank Aaron, told a grand jury in 2003 that he had never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs. The indictment follows a four-year investigation into steroid use by top athletes.