High Court Victory For Anna Nicole

Green Light For Smith To Pursue Estate Settlement In Federal Courts

(CBS/AP)  "I will continue to fight to uphold my father's estate plan and clear my name," Pierce Marshall said Monday.

Justices said Monday that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California was wrong in ruling that federal courts could not handle Smith's case.

"I am positive that the justices were far more interested in the nuances of competing jurisdiction than they were in Smith's background or appearance," Cohen said.

"And if she were not the one bringing this case no one would have heard about it — the Supreme Court resolves dozens of dense, technical cases like this each term without getting much attention to them."

But this is one nuanced case that attracted the national spotlight.

Smith may never rise to the top of Hollywood, but she'll forever be a star in law schools now, Bagnato reports, because the decision she brought to the high court denies states the right to shut federal courts out of many estate disputes.

So far, Smith has received nothing from Marshall's estate, although before his death Marshall showered Smith with $6.6 million in gifts that included two homes, expensive jewelry and clothes. She contends that he also promised her half his estate.

Ginsburg's opinion included only a hint of the nastiness of the family feud. She said there were accusations that Pierce Marshall "engaged in forgery, fraud, and overreaching to gain control of his father's assets" and, on the other side, that Smith had defamed her former stepson.

"I will continue to fight to clear my name in California federal court. That is a promise that (Smith) and her lawyers can take to the bank."

The case is Marshall v. Marshall, 04-1544.