An appellate court said a trial judge erred in dismissing conspiracy convictions against Anna Nicole Smith's psychiatrist and manager, a ruling that defense attorneys said could send the case in different directions.
The ruling came after Superior Court Judge Robert Perry chose to throw out the 2010 jury verdict that Smith manager Howard K. Stern and psychiatrist Khristine Eroshevich conspired to obtain prescription drugs for the troubled model by using false names.
The judge found it was not unusual in the celebrity world Smith inhabited for fake names to be used to protect privacy.
Lawyers called the decision confusing.
"I'm not sure I fully understand it," said attorney Bradley Brunon, who represents Eroshevich. "What they said is that what the judge did in dismissing for insufficient evidence is wrong. But he could get to the same place by reviewing the case as what we call a 13th juror."
A case involved prescriptions given to Smith in the months before she died in Florida on Feb. 8, 2007, of an accidental drug overdose. The defendants were not charged with causing her death.
The two guilty verdicts against Eroshevich and Stern on conspiracy counts involved the use of false names to obtain prescription pain medications for Smith. Eroshevich also was convicted of one count of obtaining Vicodin under a false name.
Perry dismissed the conspiracy counts and reduced the one conviction against Eroshevich to a misdemeanor with a sentence of one year of probation and a $100 fine. Her lawyer said she has fulfilled those terms.
Read More: http://omg.yahoo.com/news/court-judge-erred-tossing-smith-case-verdicts-083121654.html
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