NEW YORK (CNN) — A federal judge rejected Martha Stewart's motion for a new trial Wednesday, the court's clerk said.
The former CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, convicted on obstruction of justice charges in March, had sought a new trial, charging a juror had lied about legal problems in his background to get on the jury. That motion was rejected by Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum, according to the clerk.
Reuters reported that the 23-page decision said allegations that a juror concealed a previous arrest on charges of assault are "extremely unfortunate," but does not justify granting a new trial.
That juror, Chappelle Hartridge, told reporters after the trial that Stewart's conviction was "a victory for the little guys who lose money in the market because of these kinds of transactions." Stewart's lawyers argued in their appeal that his background and statements following the trial was proof of a "clear class bias on his part," against Stewart and her co-defendant, former Merrill Lynch stock broker Peter Bacanovic.
Stewart was convicted in March of lying to investigators about her sale of ImClone Systems stock in December 2001, the day before damaging information about the company's key drug became public. She maintained she sold her shares due to a pre-existing arrangement with Bacanovic to sell at a set price.
But Bacanovic's former assistant testified he told Stewart of the sale of shares of ImClone by the family of ImClone founder Sam Waksal that same day. Stewart and Waksal were friends who shared the same broker.
Stewart is scheduled to be sentenced June 17, and faces up to 5 years and 250,000 in fines for each of the four counts on which she was convicted. Federal sentencing guidelines suggest she faces a term of between one to two years if her appeals are not ultimately successful. She remains free on bail awaiting sentencing.
Bacanovic's lawyers have also filed an appeal allegeding juror misconduct. They cite a statement from a juror after the trial that jury members discussed press reports of the trial, including the account of what Stewart paid for her lawyer and her handbag. Jurors had been instructed not to read press accounts of the trial while it was underway
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