Jury selected for America's trial of the year

A jury of eight women and four men was chosen today to hear the fraud trial of American’s billionaire domestic goddess Martha Stewart.

Lawyers for the government and defence were expected to present their opening statements in a New York court tomorrow.

Stewart, 62, is accused of lying to investigators about why she sold 3,928 ImClone Systems shares just before they dropped sharply on a negative government report about an ImClone cancer drug.

In a defeat for Stewart, Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum ruled Monday that the defence may not argue that she is being prosecuted for asserting her innocence and exercising her right to free speech. Cedarbaum also ruled that the defence may not ask jurors to speculate why Stewart was not charged with insider trading.

The domestic style guru says she and her stockbroker, Peter Bacanovic, had a pre-existing arrangement to sell the shares. The government says Stewart was tipped that ImClone founder Sam Waksal was trying to sell his shares.

Stewart is also accused of deceiving shareholders in her own company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and trying to prop up its stock by declaring in 2002 that she was innocent in the ImClone investigation.

Stewart and her lawyers have argued that she was merely exercising her right to declare her innocence.