Resentencing Bid by Stewart Denied
A federal judge Monday rejected Martha Stewart’s bid to end her five months of house arrest early, calling her sentence “reasonable and appropriate.â€
U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum in New York said she was not convinced by Stewart’s claim that the punishment was hurting her firm.
Stewart began her five months of house arrest in early March after serving a five-month prison term in West Virginia. She was convicted last year of lying about a personal stock sale.
The judge also rejected Stewart’s bid to be allowed to leave her Westchester County, New York, estate 80 hours a week for business. Under the sentence, she is allowed 48 hours a week.
Stewart asked for resentencing after a Supreme Court ruling this year made federal sentencing guidelines advisory for judges rather than mandatory.
Cedarbaum said she would have imposed the same sentence even if the guidelines had not been mandatory at the time of the sentencing last summer.
Shares of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. fell 19 cents to $20.36 on the New York Stock Exchange.
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