Stewart asks to be rid of ankle bracelet

NEW YORK — Martha Stewart has a new to-do list — and her first order of business is getting rid of that pesky electronic ankle bracelet.

The domestic diva, you see, likes to wear skirts, and that bulky monitoring device cramps her style.

This unusual argument surfaced in papers filed this week asking Manhattan Federal Judge Miriam Cedarbaum to free Stewart immediately from all restrictions so she can rescue her floundering firm.

That means no more home confinement, no ankle bracelet — no nothing.

Stewart argues that her home confinement is killing her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia — referred to in papers as an "innocent third party."

After she left prison March 3, her company's stock dropped faster than a souffle gone bad. She claims if she's released from home confinement, she can turn that around.

"We need Ms. Stewart's involvement now more than ever," wrote Susan Lyne, president of Stewart's company, calling home confinement "impossible."

The company says Stewart needs more freedom to make contract-required in-store appearances for Kmart, and must personally woo back advertisers who fled her magazines.

But Stewart also wants more freedom to pump up her TV career, hardly the usual argument for a felon hoping to loosen probation restrictions.

Many of the complaints came from Mark Burnett, who will produce an updated version of her homemaking program and a Martha Stewart edition of "The Apprentice."

Burnett took particular note of the wretched bracelet, which Stewart must wear into August under the terms of her home confinement.

"The bracelet will hinder the continuity of the day-to-day shooting and eliminate any opportunity for Martha to wear skirts or dresses, which is part of her lifestyle and therefore a large part of the show," he wrote.

Through August, Stewart must remain confined to one building on her vast Bedford, N.Y., estate except for 48 hours each week for work, doctor visits, religious services and grocery shopping.

Stewart isn't allowed to wander the grounds at Bedford, but Burnett insists she needs to be filmed spring planting at Bedford and at her Westport, Conn., home, where she currently needs permission to go.

He even provided a shooting schedule for "The Apprentice," broken into scenes like "Greeting," "Boardroom" and "Reward."

Stewart is willing to compromise. If Cedarbaum doesn't end home confinement completely, Stewart asked the judge to consider letting her work outside her home 80 hours per week.

If she chooses, Cedarbaum can schedule a new sentencing hearing. She also could notify Stewart she won't be making any changes, meaning Stewart would be stuck with that bracelet until Aug. 3 — just days before her 64th birthday.