Court: Anna Nicole Smith manager can be retried

FILE - In this Feb. 28, 2006 file photo, Anna Nicole Smith, left, her son Daniel Smith, center, and her lawyer, Howard K. Stern leave the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington. The California Supreme Court ruled on Monday Nov. 3, 2014, that Stern may be retried on two counts of conspiracy related to obtaining prescriptions for Smith, but that decision will be made by a Los Angeles criminal court judge. Smith died Feb. 8, 2007 of an accidental drug overdose. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) FILE - In this Feb. 28, 2006 file photo, Anna Nicole Smith, left, her son Daniel Smith, center, and her lawyer, Howard K. Stern leave the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington. The California Supreme Court ruled on Monday Nov. 3, 2014, that Stern may be retried on two counts of conspiracy related to obtaining prescriptions for Smith, but that decision will be made by a Los Angeles criminal court judge. Smith died Feb. 8, 2007 of an accidental drug overdose. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

By Associated Press November 3, 2014 1 min read

LOS ANGELES (AP) – The California Supreme Court says Anna Nicole Smith’s manager can be retried on conspiracy charges related to the model’s prescription drug use.

The ruling Monday returns the case to a criminal judge in Los Angeles, but it does not guarantee that Smith’s manager Howard K. Stern will be retried.

The ruling states that Stern could face a retrial on two conspiracy charges if a judge grants a request by prosecutors for a new trial and does not find another legal basis to dismiss the case.

Stern was previously acquitted of most of the 11 counts he faced related to the obtaining of prescription drugs for Smith, who died in Florida in 2007.

A jury convicted Stern of two counts of conspiracy in 2010, but a judge later dismissed the case. An appeals court ordered the convictions reinstated and ruled that Stern could not be retried.