Roger Clemens Trial: In The Blink of an Eye Clemens Buys Himself More Time

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The Roger Clemens trial ended with much more questions than answers as the one they call "The Rocket" jets away a free man.

After months of speculation regarding how the courts would handle this case, it was over in the blink of an eye.

The US district judge declared a mistrial after deciding the jury ruled the prosecutors had so badly poisoned the jury in the perjury trial that there was no way they could go forward.

ESPN's Mark Kriedler talks about how big of a flub this is, and why the whole steroids fiasco has been skirted by the courts:

Regardless of whether the Clemens case is refiled, the overarching reality is that the courts won't ultimately be of much help here. In terms of what people think about Bonds, Clemens, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and the rest of the Steroid Era crew, it's the court of public opinion that has rendered the most striking verdicts.
Clemens' mistrial was just a plain old legal screw-up. The judge had told prosecutors they could not introduce testimony of Andy Pettitte's wife unless it was in rebuttal, since she did not hear Clemens directly state he had used human growth hormone.

The judge in this case made a special point to outline the ridiculous amount of money that the court system has blown on the Clemens case.

As the term "debt ceiling" becomes the hottest buzz word on news channels across the US, the country as a whole needs to take a serious look on how the government spends it's money. Blowing thousands of dollars on a trial that has becomes so fuzzy is simply not in the best interest of the government right now.

As for Clemens, he is incredibly lucky and will likely get out of this mess unscathed. He will forever have a tarnished legacy, but the odds of him going to jail are now slim to none. This angers plenty of hardcore baseball games that feel he disrespected the game, but there really is nothing that can be done at this point.

Score one for the bad guy.

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