Stewart Sentencing Delayed Again

The judge in the Martha Stewart case pushed back her sentencing date Friday, the second such delay since a government witness in the celebrity homemaker's case was charged with perjury.

U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum was set to sentence Stewart on July 8, but will now decide the length of Stewart's prison term on July 16.

The most recent delay was due to papers filed on Thursday by federal prosecutors claiming that since Stewart and her former stockbroker, Peter Bacanovic, weren't convicted as a direct consequence of the testimony of Larry Stewart, they should not be granted a new trial. (Larry Stewart isn't related to Martha Stewart.)

Larry Stewart, the chief forensic scientist for the Secret Service, wasn't present at an initial examination of a spreadsheet that was used as evidence in the trial, despite testifying that he was involved in each forensic inspection of the document, the government alleged. He is charged with two counts of perjury.

The Larry Stewart charge supplements the Stewart legal team's first motion for a new trial based upon the false statements of juror Chappell Hartridge during jury qualification.

Martha Stewart and Bacanovic, her former Merrill Lynch broker, were convicted March 5 of lying to the government about Stewart's well-timed sale of about 4,000 shares of ImClone SystemsIMCL in December 2001.

Among other things, Bacanovic was charged with altering a spreadsheet record of Stewart's stock sales, an allegation supported by the Secret Service examiner, who testified Feb. 19 that the ink used to make a notation on the sheet was different from other ink on the page. Ironically, making and using false documents was the one count on which Bacanovic was ultimately acquitted.

Martha Stewart Omnimedia MSO shares last traded up 2 cents, or 0.22%, at $9.