Smith Paternity Dispute Goes To Court
A judge doubted Friday that he had jurisdiction to get involved in the paternity dispute over Anna Nicole Smith's baby daughter, a day after the starlet's remains were ordered buried in the Bahamas next to those of her son.
Smith's boyfriend Howard K. Stern is listed on Dannielynn's birth certificate as her father, but two other men claim paternity. Photographer Larry Birkhead originally requested DNA testing in California but then asked that his case be moved to Florida, where Smith died two weeks ago.
Circuit Judge Lawrence Korda seemed at a loss as to how the case had landed in his court.
He asked Birkhead's lawyers why there was such a sense of urgency for this, to which they said they wanted to leave Florida as soon as possible. Korda's suggestion was that the case move to the Bahamas where he thinks the jurisdiction lies, but he said he'd review the details before making a decision.
"The question is whether Florida has any jurisdiction at all," Korda said. "This is clear, the Bahamas has substantial jurisdiction."
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The judge said that the samples from Birkhead and Smith were already obtained but that the baby's DNA was the next step. Since the baby is Bahamian born and a resident there, he said the Bahamas would likely have jurisdiction over the case.
"At this point, I don't think that I have jurisdiction," he said, adding that he'd confer with a California judge on the matter. "It may be two people talking, neither one who has jurisdiction over the case."
Korda said there are no time constraints in this matter. "The DNA samples are not decomposing," he said. "We're not in any danger of losing these (samples)."
Korda ended the hearing by telling Birkhead's lawyers he would give a ruling "pretty soon."
Smith died in South Florida on Feb. 8. An attorney for the baby decided yesterday that Smith will be buried in the Bahamas.