Roger Clemens trying to get government to pay for legal fees after perjury trial was called mistrial on Astini News
Roger Clemens wants Uncle Sam to fork over the legal fees and expenses the Rocket incurred defending himself this summer.
Clemens' perjury trial ended after two days of testimony in July when the presiding judge declared a mistrial following prosecutorial error.
During a Sept. 2 hearing - in which the former Yankee pitcher sought to have his perjury case dismissed on grounds of the double jeopardy clause - U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton allowed the trial to proceed, but stated that it was "unfair" for Clemens to have to shoulder the legal fees from the first trial.
In Tuesday's court filing, Clemens' attorneys cite several legal cases that set precedent for "prejudiced parties" to be reimbursed when they are "faced with sanctionable conduct."
During the trial in July, prosecutors introduced evidence that featured testimony by Laura Pettitte, wife of the former Yankee lefty Andy Pettitte. Walton had barred that evidence in a pre-trial ruling.
Clemens' lead attorney, Rusty Hardin, argues in the filing that Clemens will file a petition seeking "reasonable fees and expenses incurred between June 25, 2011 and July 14, when the mistrial was declared. Clemens, 49, made over $150 million during his 24-season major league career.
Hardin cites the case of Estate of Wallace v. City of Los Angeles, when representatives of the estate of murdered rapper Christopher Wallace - also known as The Notorious B.I.G. - "were entitled to an award of attorneys' fees and costs" when someone affiliated with the LAPD disclosed during trial that the government may have withheld crucial information.
"An award of fees and costs will at least partially restore Mr. Clemens to the same position he was in before the prosecutors engaged in conduct meriting a mistrial," Hardin writes in the filing. The new trial is scheduled to begin April 17.
