Martha Stewart appears in Court

The domestic style setter is facing federal obstruction of justice charges, related to an investigation of her December 2001 sale of almost 4,000 shares of biotech firm ImClone Systems before bad news about one of its key drugs was revealed to the public. Stewart and her attorneys have denied any wrongdoing in the case.

Stewart, whose June 4 arraignment in court was a media circus, is heading into court for what is known as a status conference, in which lawyers on the two sides of the case can raise issues before the judge and discuss a schedule. Despite the somewhat mundane nature of Thursday’s proceedings, the hearing is expected to garner a large amount of media attention.

Stewart resigned as chairman and CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, the publishing and home goods company she founded, the same day she was indicted. She has since set up a Web site, using it to thank supporters and present her response to some of the charges against her.