Anna Nicole Smith‘s boyfriend, Howard Stern, has been acquitted of two charges of obtaining drugs for her by fraud and deceit, including use of false names.
Superior Court Judge Robert Perry also dismissed part of a conspiracy count against Stern and Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, ruling there was insufficient proof that the two men conspired to obtain controlled drugs through fraud and deceit.
Stern, Kapoor and Dr. Khristine Eroshevich have pleaded not guilty to conspiring to prescribe, administer and dispense a controlled substance to an addict. They are not charged in Smith‘s 2007 overdose death.
Perry accepted arguments by the defence that because Stern is not a doctor, he would not have known if there were problems with the legality of prescriptions written by Kapoor.
“I don‘t think there‘s evidence that a layperson knows it‘s illegal to write a prescription in another‘s name for a celebrity,” the judge said.
Defence lawyers had hoped for more dismissals based on the judge‘s critical comments regarding the prosecution‘s case through the trial. Perry previously indicated some charges would likely be dismissed.
But the judge also raised the unusual prospect that if he does not agree with jury convictions, he has the option to change the verdicts or order a new trial.
Stern‘s lawyer, Steve Sadow, expressed alarm at that prospect, saying, ”Once it‘s post-verdict, the whole scenario changes. My client would lose his license. The doctors would lose their licenses.”
The judge said he had to be “mindful that certain issues are left for the jury, unless there is a total absence of evidence to support it.”
Source: http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201010030235428
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