Attorneys in the Anna Nicole Smith drug conspiracy trial are set with final arguments aimed at swaying jurors who will deliberate on an array of charges against two doctors and the deceased model’s former boyfriend.
The issue is whether the former reality TV star was given excessive prescription drugs, whether the defendants faked prescriptions for her, and whether she was an addict or a woman in pain seeking relief. Deputy District Attorney Renee Rose delivers her arguments first Monday, laying out the case against Howard K. Stern and Dr Sandeep Kapoor and Dr Khristine Eroshevich who are accused of conspiring to give Smith excessive prescription drugs while knowing she was an addict.
Superior Court Judge Robert Perry has been highly critical of the prosecution’s presentation during eight weeks of testimony and Rose is expected to argue for a day or longer in a bid to win convictions. The three are not charged in Smith’s 2007 overdose death, which was ruled accidental. But earlier indications that the judge would dismiss many of the charges fizzled when he announced last week he would dismiss only two counts against Stern and part of one count against Stern and Kapoor but would let the bulk of the 11 charges stand.