Lawyers for Martha Stewart submitted new court papers Wednesday urging a judge to grant her a new trial based on perjury charges against a Secret Service ink expert who testified for the government.
"Fundamental fairness, deterrence of government misconduct and public confidence in the integrity of the judicial process all require this court to grant a new trial," lawyer Robert Morvillo wrote.
Morvillo asked U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum to at least hold a hearing to determine when prosecutors learned of the alleged perjury by ink expert Larry Stewart and whether they should have known sooner.
The papers were submitted in response to government papers filed last week that urged Cedarbaum to reject the new-trial bid.
The government has accused Larry Stewart, who is no relation to Martha Stewart, of lying when he testified he took part in ink analysis testing of a stock worksheet that was a key piece of evidence at the trial.
Still, most legal scholars say the new-trial bids by Martha Stewart and ex-stockbroker Peter Bacanovic are long shots because jurors acquitted Bacanovic of a charge of doctoring the worksheet.
Sentencing is July 16 for Martha Stewart and Bacanovic, both convicted in March of lying about why she sold ImClone Systems Inc. stock in 2001. Legal experts expect each to get 10 to 16 months in prison.
