Appeals court to consider Smith burial
(AP)Updated: 2007-02-27 17:20
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The fate of Anna Nicole Smith's body is now in the hands of three appeals court judges who will decide whether to overturn a trial court ruling that meant the model would be buried in the Bahamas.
 Marilyn Beuttenmuller, Clerk of the 4th District Court of Appeal, announces the court agreed to hear a challenge by Anna Nicole Smith's estranged mother at the 4th District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach, Fla., Monday, Feb. 26, 2007.[AP]  |
The advocate for the child, Richard Milstein, and the attorney for Smith's boyfriend, Howard K. Stern, have until 2 p.m. Tuesday to respond to the challenge. The appeals court will then review all the materials and may seek oral arguments or decide the case based on briefs.
Milstein had said he would bury Smith in the Bahamas beside her 20-year-old son, who died last year. Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin ruled last week that Milstein should get custody of the body after hearing testimony that Smith wanted to be buried in the Bahamas.
Arthur wants Smith buried in her native Texas and claims Seidlin had no authority under Florida law to grant custody of Smith's body to the little girl's guardian.
Arthur is the only "legally recognized person authorized to make the ultimate decision" about her daughter's remains, the petition filed Monday said.
Arthur filed an emergency motion Friday asking Seidlin to reconsider his ruling, but he declined on Monday. The judge said he wanted to preserve Smith's dignity by having the funeral occur quickly.
Arthur's lawyer, Roberta G. Mandel, wrote in Monday morning's filing that Seidlin's ruling would also be an inconvenience because the mother "will have to have a passport and roundtrip airplane tickets and several thousand dollars to even visit or put flowers on (Smith's) grave."
Mandel said Arthur was willing to take the fight to the state Supreme Court, if necessary.
"This mother is a mother who deserves the right to bury her child," Mandel said. "The trial court treated her as though she was nothing."
Telephone messages left for Mandel were not returned after the appeals court decision.
Stern attorney Ron Rale said his client was ready. Stern was among those who testified last week that Smith wanted to be buried in the Bahamas.
"We've obviously been preparing just in case," Rale said. "But this is just sad that Virgie is pursuing her appeal."
Milstein, the court-appointed attorney for Smith's 5-month-old daughter Dannielynn, didn't return phone messages Monday, and neither did the public relations firm representing him.
Seidlin declined to comment.
Smith, 39, died in a Florida hotel Feb. 8, sparking legal disputes in Florida, California and the Bahamas.
In the Bahamas, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Isaacs dealt only with procedural matters at a private hearing Monday to determine Dannielynn's guardianship, said Wayne Munroe, an attorney for Smith's estate there.
Isaacs scheduled the next hearing for March between Arthur and Stern, who is listed as the father on the birth certificate. The judge has barred Stern from taking the girl out of the Bahamas until a custody ruling.
Stern and two other men claim they are Dannielynn's father.
Los Angeles-based photographer Larry Birkhead wants a Fort Lauderdale court to enforce a California judge's orders so he can get DNA samples from Smith's body and the baby. Frederic von Anhalt, the husband of actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, also says he may be the father.
Birkhead attorney Debra Opri indicated after Monday's hearing that Isaacs had agreed to consider his claim. She said DNA tests were expected, but would not elaborate.
A medical examiner has yet to determine Smith's cause of death. Toxicology results could take up to two more weeks.
Smith married Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II in 1994 when he was 89 and she was 26. The reality TV star and Playboy Playmate had been fighting his family over his estimated $500 million fortune since his death in 1995.
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