U.S. government granted delay to respond to Barry Bonds' appeal

Federal prosecutors have been given a 45-day delay until July 19 to respond to Barry Bonds' appeal of his obstruction of justice conviction.

The career home run leader filed a 60-page brief on May 3 with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the government's response had been due June 4.

The court granted the request prosecutors filed Wednesday and gave Bonds until 14 days after the government brief to file his optional reply. The delay likely pushes back oral arguments until October or November, and decision by a three-judge panel until late 2013 at the earliest.

Bonds was convicted in April 2011 of one count of giving an evasive answer in 2003 to a grand jury investigating illegal steroids distribution.

A jury deadlocked on three counts charging him with making false statements.