Stewart case may be quashed

PROSECUTORS hope to quash Martha Stewart’s bid for a retrial by discrediting attempts by the domestic diva’s lawyers to dredge up damaging details about a juror’s past.

Prosecutors said the allegations against juror Chappell Hartridge were not enough to require a court hearing, much less a new trial. Stewart was convicted last month of lying to investigators about her sale of shares just before they plunged on a negative government report.

Last week, Stewart’s lawyers asked for a new trial, saying Hartridge failed to disclose an arrest on assault charges.