Steroids issue taking show into courtroom

Barry Bonds’ lawyers will be watching closely.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — This is the time of year when Barry Bonds should be studying opposing pitchers.

Instead, his spring job is to follow the moves of federal prosecutors during the perjury trial of former elite cyclist Tammy Thomas, which begins today with jury selection.

More than most, Bonds should have an interest in how Thomas’ trial plays out. The home run king faces nearly identical charges arising from a federal investigation into a performance-enhancing drug distribution ring. The probe has ensnared track star Marion Jones and former San Francisco 49er Dana Stubblefield.

Investigators are now also looking into whether pitcher Roger Clemens lied when he told Congress he never used performance-enhancing drugs.

Eight people connected to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative have pleaded guilty. Thomas is the first to go to trial.

Members of Bonds’ defense team are expected to watch the trial intently from the gallery while scribbling on their legal pads — just as they have during pretrial hearings in the Thomas case.

“It’s a golden opportunity for them to watch a dress rehearsal for their trial,” Golden Gate University law professor Peter Keane said. “It’s going to be identical, and it will give Bonds’ lawyers a good opportunity to see how the prosecution will proceed.”

Thomas is charged with five counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice for allegedly lying to a grand jury about her steroid use.

Legal experts said that because some of the same key witnesses could testify in both trials, Bonds’ attorneys will have the opportunity to see what types of questions resonate with the jury.

“The entire legal bunch would do well to watch,” Keane said. “It’s like being able to watch the opposing team practice.”

Jeff Novitzky, an Internal Revenue Service special agent and a lead steroids investigator, is expected to play a starring government role in both trials. His appearance at Thomas’ trial could give Bonds’ legal team an idea of how to question him.

“The outcome of the Thomas case will inform their decision on whether they should go to trial or not,” University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias said. “It’s a good road map.”

Chemist Patrick Arnold, who created the designer steroid THG that Bonds and Thomas are accused of taking, is expected to testify against the cyclist. It is uncertain whether he’d be called at a Bonds trial.

Thomas told a grand jury in November 2003 that she never received steroids from Arnold, who pleaded guilty in 2006 to drug distribution charges and agreed to cooperate with the government’s investigation.

Also expected to testify is Kelcey Dalton, the chemist’s then-live-in girlfriend, who said she had several phone conversations with Thomas during a three-month period several years ago. The conversations “consisted of talk about weightlifting and steroids, in particular about steroids side effects,” according to court documents.

Prosecutors allege Thomas once offered Dalton a LeMond racing bicycle in exchange for some of Arnold’s designer steroids.

Dr. Margaret Wierman, who examined Thomas in 2000, also is expected to be a witness.

She warned Thomas that symptoms the cyclist complained of, such as beard growth and voice changes, were side effects of steroid use.

In court filings, prosecutors said they will rely in part on Thomas’ body features to prove she used steroids. Similarly, they could attempt to show a jury growth to Bonds’ head, feet and other body changes during the time he was alleged to have used steroids.