New York, NY, Oct. 10--A judge hearing civil lawsuits against Martha Stewart denied prosecutors' attempts to keep her lawyers from interviewing 15 government witnesses, saying he was not going to "keep this civil case hanging in the air while you proceed with your criminal case."
Prosecutors were seeking to delay Stewart's lawyers from questioning the witnesses, claiming it would interfere with their criminal case against Stewart, which is scheduled to begin Jan. 12.
According to a transcript of a Sept. 30 hearing, prosecutor Karen Seymour said there was a "very real risk" that defendants could tailor their testimony and defense around facts found in those interviews.
But U.S. District Judge John Sprizzo denied that request, saying civil rules allow "the right to conduct all relevant discovery."
Stewart--founder of home decorating and media group Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc.--is due to face trial early next year on charges of securities fraud, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making false statements to investigators looking into suspicious trades of ImClone Systems shares.
Stewart has repeatedly said her sale of nearly 4,000 ImClone shares was triggered by a standing order to sell if they stock fell below $60. She sold the stock for $58 per share on Dec. 27, 2001. The next day, ImClone reported that regulators had rejected a key drug application, triggering a massive sell-off in the stock.
Sprizzo also called into question the strength of the obstruction of justice case.
Sprizzo, referring to his experience as a prosecutor for five years, he said he had seen "a lot more serious obstruction cases. This is not the strongest obstruction case I have ever seen."
He also questioned prosecutors' use of press conferences to discuss the case.
"In my day, we didn't do that," he said, according to the transcript.
