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 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal judge took the unusual step Thursday of rejecting a plea deal for an attorney who admitted leaking the grand jury testimony of elite athletes to two newspaper reporters.
Troy Ellerman's lawyer and federal prosecutors had agreed on a range of punishments, from 15 to 24 months, after Ellerman pleaded guilty to allowing two San Francisco Chronicle reporters to view transcripts of grand jury testimony from Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield and other athletes embroiled in the government's steroids investigation.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White said both recommendations were too low and that, as a lawyer, Ellerman "should be held to a higher standard of conduct."
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