Home decorating magnate Martha Stewart is trying for a new trial, claiming that one of the jurors who convicted her lied about an arrest on assault charges.
Stewart lawyer Robert Morvillo said in papers filed in federal court in New York that he would have sought to strike juror Chappell Hartridge had he known about his past.
Stewart was convicted on March 5th along with her broker, Mr Peter Bacanovic, of obstructing justice and lying to the government about her sale of a block of stock in a biotechnology company just before the price dropped.
"Ms Stewart 's conviction cannot stand," Morvillo wrote. Stewart was convicted on March 5 along with her broker, Peter Bacanovic, of obstructing justice and lying to the government about her sale of a block of stock in a biotechnology company just before the price dropped.
The papers also accused Hartridge of seeking money for post-trial interviews. On the day of the guilty verdict, the juror said publicly that he believed the decision was "a victory for the little guys".
Marvin Smilon, a spokesman for the federal prosecutors who brought the case against Stewart , said: "We are reviewing the motion and will respond at the appropriate time."
Stewart is scheduled to be sentenced on June 17th. She is widely expected to get 10 to 16 months in prison. Stewart 's lawyers said Hartridge was arrested in 1997 after a woman with whom he was living filed an assault complaint.
They said Hartridge spent several days in jail before the woman withdrew her complaint because she could not miss work to attend court.
AP