Martha Stewart Denied Resentencing

U.S. District Court Judge Miriam Cedarbaum has denied Martha Stewart's request for a resentencing or a modification of her home confinement.

Cederbaum handed down a two-page decision in which she wrote, "The sentence I imposed was the minimum under the sentencing guidelines. I considered it appropriate ... I see no reason to modify the sentence."

Stewart and Mark Burnett had claimed that her home detention interfered with The Apprentice: Martha Stewart and her upcoming homemaking program, in part due to the limitations on the hours she can spend outside her home. Burnett also argued that her electronic monitoring anklet unduly limited her wardrobe options for the programs.

The judge pointed out that Stewart and Burnett knew she would have to comply with the terms of her home confinement when they made their plans for the programs. Cederbaum wrote, "Neither she nor they had any rights to expect that those business arrangement[sic] would persuade me that the conditions of home confinement or the term of supervised release should be changed."

Cederbaum also claimed the sentence was needed "to reflect the seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the law and to provide just punishment."

Stewart's home confinement is scheduled to end in early August.