Anna Nicole Smith's lover and lawyer Howard K. Stern has been spared jail time after he was found guilty of conspiring to use a false name to supply drugs to the tragic actress/model last year (10).
In court on Thursday (06Jan11), Los Angeles judge Robert Perry declared there was no evidence to suggest Stern intended to break the law and set aside a conviction.
Perry also set aside several felony convictions against doctor Dr. Khristine Eroshevich, who was charged for her role in the death of Anna Nicole Smith in 2007.
He reduced her conviction to a misdemeanour and ordered her to serve probation, as well as fining her $100 (£67).
Perry had had the option of sentencing the pair to up to three years and eight months behind bars.
The judgment brings an end to the nine-week trial and is a big success for the lawyers representing the Smith associates.
Stern's legal team filed a motion in court calling for the charges against their client to be overturned, claiming it is "common practice" to use false names on prescriptions for celebrities in Los Angeles "to protect privacy".
The motion, filed last year (10), stated Stern believed Smith's medic Eroshevich was right to prescribe medication to the late star under a different name.
Eroshevich was found guilty of two conspiracy charges, as well as one count of unlawfully prescribing a controlled substance and another of unlawfully obtaining a prescription by giving a false name.
Stern's lawyers asked for a reduction of his two convictions to misdemeanours.
Earlier this week (beg03Jan11), California prosecutors called on the judge to sentence Stern and the psychiatrist to felony probation and 300 hours of community service.
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