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Martha Stewart's Trial Set for Jan. 12

Posted on: Thursday, 19 June 2003, 06:00 CDT

A judge Thursday set a Jan. 12 trial date for Martha Stewart, who strode into a federal courthouse to press her case to convince the public she is innocent in a stock-trading scandal.

Stewart and her legal team hopped out of two Lincoln Town Cars and walked briskly into the courthouse. Stewart, wearing a black raincoat, held a tan and white umbrella in the morning drizzle as she ignored shouts of "Martha!" from a crowd of media and onlookers.

Her lawyers were preparing routine motions, including one they planned to submit later asking the judge to drop charges against the domestic maven.

U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum set a Nov. 18 date for lawyers to make oral arguments on their motions and asked them to submit written arguments before that.

Two weeks ago, Stewart was indicted on five counts surrounding her sale of ImClone Systems stock in 2001.

Stewart and stockbroker Peter Bacanovic, also indicted in the scandal, were scheduled to appear for a status conference - a routine step as prosecutors and defendants prepare for trial.

Stewart and Bacanovic, each facing five federal charges that carry possible prison time, have pleaded innocent on all counts.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys use status conferences to raise issues before the judge, and to take care of housekeeping matters like setting a months-long schedule for lawyers to submit motions.

Hours before the hearing was to begin, TV news crews and photographers crowded into a barricaded pen in front of the courthouse in lower Manhattan, awaiting Stewart's arrival and watched by U.S. marshals.

Across the street, two women held stenciled signs - one that said "Stop Persecution of Martha Stewart" and another that said "Martha Stewart Is a Good Thing."

Similar barricades were in place June 4, when Stewart was indicted and appeared before U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum to plead innocent. That day, a horde of photographers mobbed her as she entered and left a car.

While Stewart has not answered reporters' questions directly, she is using a Web site to proclaim her innocence. It includes supportive e-mails from fans - Stewart claims to have received 55,000 - and a statement from her lawyers.

A Stewart spokeswoman declined comment ahead of the hearing. A call to Bacanovic's attorney, Richard Strassberg, was not returned.

Stewart sold 4,000 shares of ImClone on Dec. 27, 2001, the day before a negative government report on the ImClone cancer drug Erbitux sent ImClone shares falling.

The government claims Stewart sold because she was tipped by Bacanovic that the family of ImClone founder Sam Waksal was trying to sell its shares. Prosecutors say Stewart then lied to investigators about the sale.

She is also accused of propping up stock in her own company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, last summer by claiming she was innocent and was cooperating with investigators - claims the government says were false.

Stewart resigned as chairwoman and CEO of the media company hours after she was indicted. She plans to remain on the board and serve as its creative director.

The hearing comes a week after Waksal, Stewart's longtime friend, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison and ordered to pay more than $4 million. Waksal pleaded guilty last year to six counts in the scandal.

Waksal was the first corporate CEO to be sentenced to prison since Enron Corp. launched a wave of business scandals in late 2001.

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Associated Press Writer Michael Weissenstein contributed to this report.

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On the Net:

Stewart defense site: http://www.marthatalks.com

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