Martha's Jury Selected

The judge presiding over Martha Stewart's obstruction-of-justice trial has chosen the winning recipe for a jury of the homemaking mogul's peers.

Eight women and four men were picked Monday from a pool of more than 50 potential jurors to decide the fate of the domestic doyenne. Six alternates were also chosen.

While the jurors' identities have not been released, certain details about the 12 men and women selected were made public.

The dozen impartial and unbiased individuals chosen ranged from being "very familiar" (Juror Number One) with the Martha Stewart marketing machine, to considering the maven's homestuffs "not anything of interest to me" (Juror Number Eight).

Other details released about the jurors seemed less relevant to their task at hand.

For example: Juror Number 10 once sued her dry cleaners, claiming they stained an antique dress she brought to be cleaned.

The jurors were weeded out from the larger pool after they presumably gave the "right" answers to questions such as "Have you ever purchased a Martha Stewart product?" and, "Have you ever made a project or cooked a recipe from Martha Stewart?"

Jurors were instructed to ignore the buzz of the media circus surrounding the case.

Stewart has maintained that she is innocent of the charges against her, which range from obstruction of justice to securities fraud.

However, in a blow to Stewart's case, U.S. District Court Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum issued an order blocking the defense from arguing that the lifestyle guru is being prosecuted because of her celebrity status. Nor can Stewart's legal eagles assert that she was merely exerting her right to free speech when she gave television interviews in which she proclaimed her innocence.

In an additional setback for the defense, the judge also ruled that Stewart's legal team cannot ask the jurors to speculate on why the prosecution did not file insider-trading charges in the case.

The whole brouhaha stems from Stewart's December 2001 dumping of ImClone stock, just before its value dropped sharply after the government failed to approve a patent for a cancer drug manufactured by the company.

ImClone founder and Stewart pal Sam Waksal is already serving time in prison for supplying family members with insider-trading information about the stock's anticipated demise. Prosecutors allege that Stewart also benefited from Waksal's loose lips.

While Stewart is not under indictment for insider trading, she does stand accused of obstruction of justice for allegedly lying to investigators about why she sold her ImClone shares.

The securities fraud charges against Stewart stem from the prosecution's assertion that she misled shareholders in her own company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, by downplaying the ImClone investigation.

Opening statements from both sides were scheduled to commence Monday. The trial is expected to run four days a week for a month.

While Stewart could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of the charges against her, her loyal supporters are confident she will be exonerated.

In postings to Stewart's defense site, MarthaTalks.com, fans urged the homemaking maven to "keep your chin up," and reminded her that "this is no time to diet. Chocolate helps."

Stewart's not the only celebrity drawing potential jurors to the courtroom this week. Jury selection in a case against P. Diddy (aka Sean Combs) began Monday.

The hip-hopster's former chauffeur is accusing Diddy and a bodyguard of forcing him to drive away from the scene of a 1999 nightclub shooting.

The driver, Wardel Fenderson, "was afraid that if he stopped [the car], he was going to be hurt by somebody in the car, and if he didn't, he was going to be hurt by the police," his lawyer told the New York Daily News.

Fenderson is suing Diddy for $3 million and has filed claims against the mogul's Bad Boy Entertainment and Diddy's late bodyguard, Anthony Jones, who died in a November shooting in Atlanta.

Ex-Diddy girlfriend Jennifer Lopez, who was with the rapper (then known as Puff Daddy) at the time of the shooting, has been subpoenaed to testify in the trial. The rapper himself is also expected to take the stand in his defense.

By the end of the day, State Supreme Court Justice Harold Beeler had slapped a gag order on lawyers to keep them from blabbing to the press.

Diddy was acquitted in March 2001 of gun possession and bribery charges stemming from the shooting. A spokesperson for the rap mogul has said Fenderson's suit was an attempt to cash in on Diddy's celebrity.