Judge dismisses case — again — against Anna Nicole Smith’s longtime companion

For the second time, a judge Wednesday dismissed the case against attorney Howard K. Stern, who was convicted in 2010 of two counts of conspiracy involving prescriptions written on behalf of his longtime companion, model Anna Nicole Smith, who died from an accidental drug overdose in 2007.

“Howard Stern simply has been through enough … I find there is no reason to permit this case to go forward,” Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert J. Perry said.

The judge cited what he believed was “a basic unfairness in this case,” saying he believed Stern was charged was because he was a “public figure” due to his long association with Smith, when medical professionals who issued prescriptions under names other than Smith’s did not face criminal prosecution.

“Everyone did it,” the judge said. “Everyone did it to protect her privacy from the prying eyes of the ever-present press representatives in Ms. Smith’s life.”

Perry said he did not think the nature of the case warranted another trial, and said the case “reeks” of “unfairness.”

He told prosecutors, “Your office just can’t let go of this case.”

In a statement issued several hours after the judge’s decision, District Attorney Jackie Lacey said she supports “the integrity of my prosecutors and the guilty verdicts in this case.”

“For a second time, I believe Judge Perry has abused his discretion by dismissing the charges against Howard K. Stern,” the county’s top prosecutor said. “His disregard of the jury’s verdict of guilt and of the unanimous decision of the California Court of Appeal finding substantial evidence of Howard K. Stern’s guilt is extremely disappointing.”

Jane Robison of the District Attorney’s Office said prosecutors were considering whether to appeal Perry’s latest ruling.

The judge initially dismissed the case against Stern at a 2011 sentencing hearing, citing insufficient evidence.

The District Attorney’s Office appealed that ruling, with a three- justice panel from California’s Court of Appeal overturning Perry’s decision but finding that his ruling would bar Stern from being retried because double jeopardy would apply.

Last November, the California Supreme Court ruled that Stern could be retried if the court granted him a new trial. The case was then sent back to Perry.

Defense attorney Steve Sadow told the judge that his client had been threatened at one point with being disbarred as a result of the conviction.

“They just don’t want to say enough is enough,” Sadow said.

Deputy District Attorney Sean Carney countered that the prosecution had an interest in protecting the integrity of Stern’s conviction on the two counts, telling the judge that the dismissal would be a “draconian sanction.”

The judge said the prosecution would have a chance to appeal his latest ruling, but granted the defense’s motion for a new trial in case his ruling doesn’t stand.

Prosecutors alleged during the trial that Stern and co-defendant Dr. Khristine Eroshevich, a psychiatrist who was once Smith’s next-door neighbor, conspired to funnel prescription drugs to the reality TV star and onetime Playboy Playmate.

Sadow countered that there was an “abundance of reasonable doubt” and said prosecutors had trashed Smith “as an out-of-control drug addict” and showed no regard for the chronic pain she suffered for years.

Stern and Eroshevich were convicted on Oct. 28, 2010, after 13 days of jury deliberations following a lengthy trial, but Stern was acquitted of seven other charges and jurors deadlocked on two other counts against Eroshevich.

The judge has since said that the jury’s verdict “essentially exonerated” Stern, and estimated that the trial cost taxpayers about $500,000.

A second doctor, Sandeep Kapoor, was acquitted of all six charges against him.

The three were not charged in connection with Smith’s death in Florida at the age of 39.

In his 2011 ruling, the judge also dismissed three of four counts against Eroshevich, including the two conspiracy charges.

In an October 2012 ruling, the state appellate court panel found that Perry had dismissed the charges against Stern and Eroshevich “based on an erroneous finding the evidence was insufficient as a matter of law” and sent the case back for Perry to take up the issue of a new trial, to dismiss the case on other grounds or to impose sentence.

At a hearing this May, Perry dismissed one of the conspiracy counts against Eroshevich and reduced another count to a misdemeanor. He determined that she had already served a year on probation, and said the psychiatrist had tried to “help Anna Nicole Smith” deal with physical issues she was facing.

—City News Service