Now here’s some oral arguments I’d pay money to see!
(AP) WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court shed its staid image Tuesday, giving stripper-turned Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith a new chance at a piece of the fortune of her 90-year-old late husband.
The court said it would hear arguments early next year as part of Smith’s effort to collect as much as $474 million from the estate of J. Howard Marshall II. The oil tycoon married her in 1994 when he was 89 and she was 26.
And you know what I think of that? Good for them! She was a hot young white-trash girl from Texas who wanted money, fame, and affection. He was a 89-year-old billionaire in fading health; money was nothing to him compared to the love and companionship of a hot young girl. It always looked to me like both parties in the relationship got exactly what they wanted.
The 1993 Playmate of the Year and self-described “blonde bombshell” claims her husband promised her millions but that his scheming son cut her out of the estate.
The son, E. Pierce Marshall, said that a Texas court had found Smith’s claim frivolous and that a jury determined he did nothing wrong. “This is one small step in a process and we intend to prevail so that my father’s wishes can be honored,” he said in a statement.
An initial $474 million award for Smith was reduced to about $89 million, then thrown out altogether by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The appeals court said that a Texas probate court’s decision that the oilman’s son was his sole heir should stand.
The appeals court decision, that federal courts in California never had jurisdiction, erased a lower court finding that she was entitled to compensatory and punitive damages on grounds that Marshall’s son tried to keep her from receiving money from his father’s estate.
C’mon, Pierce, the woman deserves a cut. Girls at the Bunny Ranch get thousands for just one night. She was with Howard for more than a year. She was his legal wife. They said they loved each other. Trying to cut her out of her entitlement only means you believe your father was an incompetant fool unable to decide how he wanted to live the twilight of his life and how best to distribute his money. Anna and Howard have nothing to be ashamed of, but you, Pierce, you are a scoundrel.
Man, I’d pay money to watch Clarence Thomas during the hearings…
