The Supreme Court shed its staid image Tuesday, giving stripper-turned Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith a new chance at a piece of the fortune of her 90-year-old late husband.
The court said it would hear arguments early next year as part of Smith's effort to collect as much as $474 million from the estate of J. Howard Marshall II. The oil tycoon married her in 1994 when he was 89 and she was 26.
The case promises to be the sexiest of the nine-month term which begins next week.
"She's very excited. She will be attending arguments, there's no question about that,"
Smith's lawyer, Howard K. Stern, said in a telephone interview from Vermont where the television reality star is filming a movie.
At issue for the court is a relatively mundane technical issue: when may federal courts hear claims that are also involved state probate proceedings. But the facts are eye-catching.
The 1993 Playmate of the Year and self-described "blonde bombshell" claims her husband promised her millions but that his scheming son cut her out of the estate.
The son, E. Pierce Marshall, said that a Texas court had found Smith's claim frivolous and that a jury determined he did nothing wrong. "This is one small step in a process and we intend to prevail so that my father's wishes can be honored," he said in a statement.
His father, one of Texas' wealthiest men, died in 1995, setting off a nasty legal fight.
An initial $474 million award for Smith was reduced to about $89 million, then thrown out altogether by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The appeals court said that a Texas probate court's decision that the oilman's son was his sole heir should stand.
The appeals court decision, that federal courts in California never had jurisdiction, erased a lower court finding that she was entitled to compensatory and punitive damages on grounds that Marshall's son tried to keep her from receiving money from his father's estate.
Smith, whose real name is Vickie Lynn Marshall, had received more than $6 million in gifts from her late husband, but was not included in his will, justices were told by E. Pierce Marshall's attorneys.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case without awaiting the opinion of the new chief justice. The Senate is expected to vote on John Roberts' nomination later this week.
《花花公子》前模特夺亡夫遗产案重审
日前，美国最高法院决定将开始重审前《花花公子》模特安娜-妮可-史密斯继承90岁亡夫巨额遗产一案。
据美联社9月27日报道，最高法院表示，将在明年初举行法庭辩论，审理史密斯欲从亡夫、享年90岁的石油大亨J-霍华德-马歇尔那里获得高达4.74亿美元的遗产纠纷案。对此，史密斯的律师斯特恩透露说："她(史密斯)非常兴奋。她将准时出席法庭辩论会。"
1994年，26岁的史密斯与89岁的石油大亨、得克萨斯州首富马歇尔结婚。婚后不到1年，马歇尔去世。史密斯曾称，马歇尔生前许诺会留给她数百万美元的遗产，但马歇尔的独子皮尔斯采取种种手段欲独吞遗产。从此以后，史密斯与马歇尔之子为了遗产争得头破血流，反目成仇。史密斯与富翁马歇尔相识之后，从马歇尔处得到了超过600万美元的礼物，但却没有出现在他的遗产继承人名单中。
最初，史密斯欲争取得到4.74亿美元的遗产。2002年，加利福尼亚的联邦法庭判决史密斯应得到8850万美元。而在皮尔斯提出上诉后，联邦上诉法院第9巡回法庭最终裁决皮尔斯是马歇尔的唯一合法继承人，剥夺了史密斯的遗产继承资格，还不允许曾判决对史密斯有利的加州联邦法庭再次介入此案。
报道说，美参议院将于本周末提名约翰·罗伯茨为新的最高法院首席法官，但最高法院已同意在首席法官选出前对史密斯的遗产纠纷案举行听证。
关键字:双语阅读
生词表:
The court said it would hear arguments early next year as part of Smith's effort to collect as much as $474 million from the estate of J. Howard Marshall II. The oil tycoon married her in 1994 when he was 89 and she was 26.
The case promises to be the sexiest of the nine-month term which begins next week.
"She's very excited. She will be attending arguments, there's no question about that,"
Smith's lawyer, Howard K. Stern, said in a telephone interview from Vermont where the television reality star is filming a movie.
At issue for the court is a relatively mundane technical issue: when may federal courts hear claims that are also involved state probate proceedings. But the facts are eye-catching.
The 1993 Playmate of the Year and self-described "blonde bombshell" claims her husband promised her millions but that his scheming son cut her out of the estate.
The son, E. Pierce Marshall, said that a Texas court had found Smith's claim frivolous and that a jury determined he did nothing wrong. "This is one small step in a process and we intend to prevail so that my father's wishes can be honored," he said in a statement.
His father, one of Texas' wealthiest men, died in 1995, setting off a nasty legal fight.
An initial $474 million award for Smith was reduced to about $89 million, then thrown out altogether by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The appeals court said that a Texas probate court's decision that the oilman's son was his sole heir should stand.
The appeals court decision, that federal courts in California never had jurisdiction, erased a lower court finding that she was entitled to compensatory and punitive damages on grounds that Marshall's son tried to keep her from receiving money from his father's estate.
Smith, whose real name is Vickie Lynn Marshall, had received more than $6 million in gifts from her late husband, but was not included in his will, justices were told by E. Pierce Marshall's attorneys.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case without awaiting the opinion of the new chief justice. The Senate is expected to vote on John Roberts' nomination later this week.
《花花公子》前模特夺亡夫遗产案重审
日前，美国最高法院决定将开始重审前《花花公子》模特安娜-妮可-史密斯继承90岁亡夫巨额遗产一案。
据美联社9月27日报道，最高法院表示，将在明年初举行法庭辩论，审理史密斯欲从亡夫、享年90岁的石油大亨J-霍华德-马歇尔那里获得高达4.74亿美元的遗产纠纷案。对此，史密斯的律师斯特恩透露说："她(史密斯)非常兴奋。她将准时出席法庭辩论会。"
1994年，26岁的史密斯与89岁的石油大亨、得克萨斯州首富马歇尔结婚。婚后不到1年，马歇尔去世。史密斯曾称，马歇尔生前许诺会留给她数百万美元的遗产，但马歇尔的独子皮尔斯采取种种手段欲独吞遗产。从此以后，史密斯与马歇尔之子为了遗产争得头破血流，反目成仇。史密斯与富翁马歇尔相识之后，从马歇尔处得到了超过600万美元的礼物，但却没有出现在他的遗产继承人名单中。
最初，史密斯欲争取得到4.74亿美元的遗产。2002年，加利福尼亚的联邦法庭判决史密斯应得到8850万美元。而在皮尔斯提出上诉后，联邦上诉法院第9巡回法庭最终裁决皮尔斯是马歇尔的唯一合法继承人，剥夺了史密斯的遗产继承资格，还不允许曾判决对史密斯有利的加州联邦法庭再次介入此案。
报道说，美参议院将于本周末提名约翰·罗伯茨为新的最高法院首席法官，但最高法院已同意在首席法官选出前对史密斯的遗产纠纷案举行听证。
关键字:双语阅读
生词表:
- frivolous [´frivələs]
a.轻佻的 六级词汇 - setting [´setiŋ] n.安装；排字；布景 四级词汇
- jurisdiction [,dʒuəris´dikʃən] n.裁判(权)；管辖范围 四级词汇
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