Prosecutors accuse judge in Anna Nicole Smith case of bias

The judge who oversaw the trial over prescription drugs provided to late model Anna Nicole Smith was biased, acted arbitrarily and capriciously, and carved out a “celebrity exception” to state law, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office alleged in papers filed with an appellate court Monday.

The prosecution’s appeal followed the extraordinary step taken by L.A. County Superior Court Judge Robert Perry in January to dismiss all but one misdemeanor conviction from a jury’s decision finding two defendants guilty of conspiracy to obtain medications under a false name.

He said at the time that the verdicts against Smith’s longtime companion, Howard K. Stern, and psychiatrist Khristine Eroshevich were not supported by evidence.

In its appeal, prosecutors wrote that the judge had repeatedly expressed “antipathy” toward them, calling their case a “kitchen-sink prosecution” and accusing them of being influenced by the “celebrity nature” of the case.

Prosecutors said evidence at trial showed that when Eroshevich wrote prescriptions for sedatives under Stern’s name to be given to Smith, the concern wasn’t for her privacy but to avoid detection by state authorities. Perry’s finding that Stern was concerned about Smith’s privacy and his remark that “there is a strong interest on the part of celebrities for privacy” was in effect “creating a celebrity exception” to the law, they wrote.

Bradley Brunon, who represented Eroshevich at trial, said the prosecutors’ new filing was “another pathetic effort to get their way in the courtroom.”

Steve Sadow, Stern’s attorney, said it “does not surprise me one bit” that prosecutors “would try to blame Judge Perry, a fundamentally fair and well-respected trial judge, for their failed attempt to convict my client.”

“The evidence was woefully insufficient to convict, and the trial judge showed real courage in rightfully exercising his discretion to ensure justice was served,” Sadow said in an email.

Smith died in 2007 of an accidental overdose in Hollywood, Fla. A third defendant, her primary care physician, Sandeep Kapoor, was acquitted of all charges by the jury. The three defendants had initially faced a total of 23 counts of illegally prescribing and obtaining powerful sedatives and opiates for Smith.

victoria.kim@latimes.com