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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Drug related conspiracy |
Sentence: |
Exonerated After Conviction But Prior to Sentencing |
Years Imprisoned: |
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Year Crime: |
2007 |
Year Convicted: |
2010 |
Year Cleared: |
2015 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
California |
County or Region of Crime: |
Los Angeles |
City of Crime: |
Los Angeles |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Howard Kevin Stern and Khristine Elaine Eroshevich were codefendants wrongly convicted on October 28, 2010 of two felony conspiracy counts in Los Angeles, California. Their prosecutions were based on their roles in obtaining prescription drugs for Anna Nicole Smith before the Playboy model and reality TV star died of an accidental overdose on Feb. 8, 2007. To protect Smith's privacy, Howard Stern and Khristine Eroshevich had used assumed names to obtain presicription drugs for her. Sterm married Smith in Nassau, Bahamas on September 28, 2006 in a non-binding ceremony, and he was also her attorney, and her agent. Her reality television program -- The Anna Nicole Show -- was broadcast from 2002 to 2004. Dr. Khristine Eroshevich was Smith's psychiatrist. After their convictions by a jury of 2 of their 11 count indictment -- Count 1: obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation; and Count 3: giving a false name in a prescription for a controlled substance -- Stern and Eroshevich filed a pre-sentence motion for a new trial. On January 6, 2011 Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert J. Perry set-aside Stern conviction on the basis the prosecution failed to introduce sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to break the law by using assumed names to protect Smith's privacy. Judge Perry dismissed the charges against Eroshevich without ruling on her new trial motion. The prosecution appealed. On October 18, 2012 the California Court of Appeals reversed Judge Perry's ruling in holding the evidence was sufficient to support Stern's convictions. The appeals court remanded for Judge Perry to reconsider the other issues in Stern's motion and to consider the new trial issue in Eroshevich's pre-sentence motion. The appeals court also held that double jeopardy barred Stern from being retried -- but that Eroshevich could be retried. On March 28, 2013 the appeals court issued a revised opinion, which came to the same conclusions -- People v. Eroshevich, 214 Cal. App. 4th 1335 (Cal. Ct of Appeal, 2nd App. Dist., 5th Div. 2013. The State appealed. On November 3, 2014 the California Supreme Court only reversed the appeals court's ruling that Stern couldn't be retried. The case was remanded back to the Superior Court for consideration of the other issues in Stern and Eroshevich's pre-sentence motion. On April 17, 2015 Judge Perry again vacated Eroshevich's two felony convictions, ruling the prosecution presented no evidence of malice in her actions. However, he substituted a misdemeanor conspiracy conviction for one of the counts, and sentenced her to pay a $100 fine and one year of probation -- which was stayed because she had already completed almost five years on post-verdict monitoring. On July 22, 2015 Judge Robert Perry again reversed Stern's convictions, and dismissed the charges against him, in ruling it would be unfair to Stern to prolong the six-year-old case." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"On July 22, 2015 Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert J. Perry again reversed Howard Stern's convictions, and dismissed the charges against him on the basis it was unfair to Stern to prolong the six-year-old case." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Felony case against Anna Nicole Smith confidant dismissed, By Daily News Staff, Los Angeles Daily News, August 28, 2015" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.dailynews.com/2015/07/22/felony-case-against-anna-nicole-smith-confidant-dismissed/ |
Information Source 2: |
"Anna Nicole's boyfriend, psychiatrist guilty of conspiracy, By Associated Press, Today.com, October 29, 2010" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.today.com/id/39895977/ns/today-today_entertainment/t/anna-nicoles-boyfriend-psychiatrist-guilty-conspiracy/ |
Information Source 3: |
"People v. Eroshevich, 210 Cal. App. 4th 229, 148 Cal. Rptr. 3d 286 (Cal. Ct of Appeal, 2nd Appellate Dist., 5th Div. 10-18-2012) (Reversing trial judge's ruling vacating the convictions of Eroshevich and Stern.)" |
Information Location 3: |
"https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2850856743904865662&q=KHRISTINE+EROSHEVICH&hl=en&as_sdt=4,5" |
Information Source 4: |
"People v. Eroshevich, 336 P. 3d 678 (Cal. Supreme Court 2014) (Ruling that Stern could be retried.)" |
Information Location 4: |
"https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=16288062555014895873&q=howard+stern&hl=en&as_sdt=4,5" |
Information Source 5: |
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Information Location 5: |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org