Ms. Smith Goes To Washington: High Court Hears Estate Dispute

By GINA HOLLAND, Associated Press
March 1, 2006

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court appeared ready yesterday to bless Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith's pursuit of a piece of her late husband's oil fortune.

The court waded into an 11-year family feud over the estate of J. Howard Marshall II, who died at age 90 after a brief marriage to Smith. The case is dominated by themes of sex, greed, and deception.

"It's quite a story," Justice Breyer marveled.

Marshall's youngest son, E. Pierce Marshall, claims that he is the sole heir and that Smith's legal fight is dead, because she lost in a Texas probate court.

Justices appeared unwilling to buy that.

Ms. Smith, a former stripper known for her flashy, cleavage-revealing outfits, watched from near the back of the court, dressed in black. Her lawyers said she was in tears during part of the argument when justices discussed her late husband.

Justices tread delicately on the subject matter.

Chief Justice Roberts said the case involved "a substantial amount of assets," referring to the fortune of Ms. Smith's husband of 14 months. The estate was estimated at as much as $1.6 billion.

The court's other new member, Samuel Alito, remained silent as did Justice Thomas.

Otherwise, however, it was a lively debate that included many references to Ms. Smith and her plight, although justices referred to her by her given name, Vickie Lynn.

Justice Breyer said there was evidence that the will was forged and that the son hired private detectives to keep Ms. Smith away from her elderly husband's sick bed. She was a 26-year-old topless dancer, divorced with a son, when she and Marshall were married. One of her husband's nurses testified that Ms. Smith bared her breasts to the bedridden man as part of her effort to get an inheritance.

Justice Souter distilled her claims in only a few words: "I just want some money from this guy."

Her late husband, a widower with a penchant for strippers, showered Ms. Smith with gifts including two homes, jewelry and clothes.

In addition, she contends that he promised her half his estate.

G. Eric Brunstad Jr., the lawyer for the son, said that a Texas court investigated her claims during a five-month trial and rejected them. He said that Ms. Smith had no grounds to bring a separate claim in federal court in California.