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To: AugustWest who wrote (51057)	3/5/2004 3:21:46 PM
From: Lazarus_Long	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 57110

Now this is interesting..... MSO 16.40 +2.37 Jury Said to Reach Verdict in Martha Stewart Trial By IAN URBINA and COLIN MOYNIHAN Published: March 5, 2004 he jury in the Martha Stewart trial has reached a verdict, The Associated Press reported, citing law enforcement officials, and court officials appeared to be preparing the federal courthouse in Manhattan for the reading of a verdict. Ms. Stewart, the former chairwoman and chief executive of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, is charged with conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making false statements. Her co-defendant, Peter E. Bacanovic, her former stockbroker at Merrill Lynch, also faces those charges, as well perjury and making false documents. Advertisement Earlier today, the judge ruled that the jury had sufficient evidence to reach a decision on the perjury charge against Mr. Bacanovic. The judge, Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum, issued the decision in response to requests that jurors made on Thursday for documents and explanations involving several questions, including one related to the perjury charge against Mr. Bacanovic. To convict a defendant of perjury, jurors must rely on the testimony of two witnesses, or on one witness whose story is supported by an independent document. Judge Cedarbaum's ruling said effectively that the requirement was fulfilled by the testimony of an employee of Ms. Stewart's, Ann E. Armstrong, and phone logs kept by Ms. Armstrong. The judge said that there were two reasons why the two pieces of evidence in question were independent and legitimate: Ms. Armstrong did not rely on the phone log for her testimony, and the phone logs were legitimate documents because they had been kept "in the normal course of business." Mr. Bacanovic's lawyer, Richard M. Strassberg, objected to the decision, citing case law that he said provided a different definition of independent. He said he intended to appeal on this issue. "Your exception is on the record," Judge Cedarbaum replied. "I am satisfied that what I explained to you is the law." The judge then sent a note to the jury, which is entering its third day of deliberations today, ruling that the two pieces of evidence were indeed independent. On Thursday, the jury expressed particular interest in any references to whether Mr. Bacanovic spoke to Ms. Stewart on Dec. 27, 2001, the day Ms. Stewart sold nearly 4,000 shares of ImClone Systems worth about $225,000. The case against Ms. Stewart, 62, the former chairwoman and chief executive of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and Mr. Bacanovic, 41, arose from the trade that Ms. Stewart made a day before ImClone, the biotechnology company then run by her friend Samuel D. Waksal, announced disappointing news about one of its products, which prompted the share price to plunge. Dr. Waksal is serving a seven-year prison term after pleading guilty to several crimes, including securities fraud, most of them related to the sale of ImClone shares he and relatives owned. Ms. Stewart says her trade was "entirely lawful," and, as Mr. Bacanovic did, pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. But prosecutors say that she was tipped by Douglas Faneuil, a former assistant to Mr. Bacanovic, that members of the Waksal family were selling their stock. Conviction on the charges against Ms. Stewart would carry a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison, but federal guidelines could reduce that to about a year. Conviction on all charges for Mr. Bacanovic would carry a possible sentence of 25 years in prison, though he could have his sentence similarly reduced. A charge of securities fraud against Ms. Stewart was dismissed by the judge last week. nytimes.com