Forensic Expert Charged With Lying in Martha Stewart Case

The government held that Bacanovic added the "at 60" annotation after the fact and it called Larry Stewart to the stand on Feb. 19, about two weeks into the trial. The scientist testified that the pen used to make the annotation was an expensive one, while other markings on the same sheet were made from a cheap Paper Mate pen.

Lawyers from both sides were meticulous in vetting the finer points of ink analysis with Mr. Stewart, with a defense expert testifying that another marking on the page was similar to the "at 60" notation and that numerous pens were used elsewhere on the sheet.

In sometimes flustered testimony under defense cross-examination, Mr. Stewart acknowledged in his Feb. 19 testimony that not every mark on the page got the same initial analysis, but said infrared analysis of one mark that appeared similar to the "at 60" annotation was inconclusive. Mr. Stewart said testing the second mark, a dash next to an entry for Apple Computer, was impossible because the defense had used too much of the sample in its own tests.

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