By Paul Thomasch
(Reuters)
NEW YORK -- Lifestyle trendsetter Martha Stewart has asked a federal judge for a new trial because her guilty verdict was "corroded" by a government witness who lied on the stand, court papers revealed on Thursday.
The demand for a new trial came a day after a grand jury indicted U.S. Secret Service laboratory director Larry Stewart on charges of falsely testifying that he carried out tests on a key document in the trial.
Larry Stewart is no relation to Ms. Stewart, who was convicted on March 5 of conspiring with her stockbroker to lie about a suspicious stock trade.
Ms. Stewart's sentencing has been delayed for three weeks to allow time for the motion for a new trial to be filed and for U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum to review it.
Prosecutors have said that the perjury charges against the Secret Service lab director would not affect the convictions and that the test results are still valid.
In a much anticipated motion, Ms. Stewart's lawyers said "the government's election to call Larry Stewart as a witness and to present his testimony at trial produced error of constitutional dimension in several respects, requiring that the convictions be vacated and a new trial ordered."
The papers charged that other Secret Service officials in the courtroom during Larry Stewart's testimony were aware of the perjury but said nothing about it.
"Their silence is scandalous and not the way we expect the government to conduct itself," the lawyers, Robert Morvillo and John Tigue, said in an accompanying statement.
If the request is denied, Judge Cedarbaum will decide on July 8 whether the celebrity homemaker will go to prison for conspiring with her broker Peter Bacanovic to cover up the reasons behind a suspicious stock sale of ImClone Systems Inc., a biotech company run by a friend.
In a 25-page brief, Ms. Stewart's lawyers argued, "there can be no denying that Mr. Stewart's perjury was material."
They also argued: "Simply stated, a verdict that rests upon such a corroded foundation cannot stand."
The Secret Service lab director has not entered a plea on charges that he gave false testimony.
Ms. Stewart turned a small catering company into the multimedia firm Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia . On March 15, she resigned as a board member and officer of the company.
On May 10, the company said it may face further operating losses, additional litigation and the loss of key employees as a result of Stewart's criminal conviction.
An earlier motion by Ms. Stewart for a retrial, based on statements made by a juror, was denied.
(Reuters)
NEW YORK -- Lifestyle trendsetter Martha Stewart has asked a federal judge for a new trial because her guilty verdict was "corroded" by a government witness who lied on the stand, court papers revealed on Thursday.
The demand for a new trial came a day after a grand jury indicted U.S. Secret Service laboratory director Larry Stewart on charges of falsely testifying that he carried out tests on a key document in the trial.
Larry Stewart is no relation to Ms. Stewart, who was convicted on March 5 of conspiring with her stockbroker to lie about a suspicious stock trade.
Ms. Stewart's sentencing has been delayed for three weeks to allow time for the motion for a new trial to be filed and for U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum to review it.
Prosecutors have said that the perjury charges against the Secret Service lab director would not affect the convictions and that the test results are still valid.
In a much anticipated motion, Ms. Stewart's lawyers said "the government's election to call Larry Stewart as a witness and to present his testimony at trial produced error of constitutional dimension in several respects, requiring that the convictions be vacated and a new trial ordered."
The papers charged that other Secret Service officials in the courtroom during Larry Stewart's testimony were aware of the perjury but said nothing about it.
"Their silence is scandalous and not the way we expect the government to conduct itself," the lawyers, Robert Morvillo and John Tigue, said in an accompanying statement.
If the request is denied, Judge Cedarbaum will decide on July 8 whether the celebrity homemaker will go to prison for conspiring with her broker Peter Bacanovic to cover up the reasons behind a suspicious stock sale of ImClone Systems Inc., a biotech company run by a friend.
In a 25-page brief, Ms. Stewart's lawyers argued, "there can be no denying that Mr. Stewart's perjury was material."
They also argued: "Simply stated, a verdict that rests upon such a corroded foundation cannot stand."
The Secret Service lab director has not entered a plea on charges that he gave false testimony.
Ms. Stewart turned a small catering company into the multimedia firm Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia . On March 15, she resigned as a board member and officer of the company.
On May 10, the company said it may face further operating losses, additional litigation and the loss of key employees as a result of Stewart's criminal conviction.
An earlier motion by Ms. Stewart for a retrial, based on statements made by a juror, was denied.
