Judge says evidence in Smith case weak
Los Angeles ? A judge delivered a harsh assessment Friday of the evidence and charges against two doctors and a lawyer in the ongoing Anna Nicole Smith drug conspiracy case.
The criticism came as Superior Court Judge Robert Perry reluctantly agreed to let jurors see a videotape of Smith on an awards show in a performance her former boyfriend Larry Birkhead said was considered “loopy, wacky and crazy” by many people.
Perry, however, said outside the jury’s presence that he was concerned about the prosecution’s case.
“It’s the people’s position that Anna Nicole was kept in a drugged state,” Perry said. “They claim she was a pawn in the hands of her handlers and doctors who kept her in a drugged state to control her and her money.”
The evidence so far does not support that, he said.
“I’m seeing a strong-willed person who ordered people around and was her own boss,” Perry said.
Deputy District Attorney Renee Rose protested that she could understand the court’s rulings if the case was going to be decided by a judge.
“But this is a case for a jury.” she said.
Perry said he likely would bar most further video evidence because he has a responsibility to prevent the presentation of misleading evidence such as snippets of edited video designed to show that Smith was drugged.
“It is not our contention that she walked around drug addled for two years,” Rose said.
Dr. Khristine Eroshevich, Dr. Sandeep Kapoor and Smith’s boyfriend-lawyer Howard K. Stern have pleaded not guilty to prescribing to an addict as well as conspiring to provide excessive opiates and sedatives to the celebrity model. They are not charged with causing her 2007 overdose death in Florida.






