Anna Nicole Smith’s ex and former lawyer, Howard K. Stern, is now working with the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office.
Public information officer Pamela Johnson confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Stern “was hired on June 3, 2019 as a deputy public defender.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
The Blast reports that the attorney is reportedly currently in a training program for public defenders in downtown Los Angeles, where he is well-liked; his colleagues reportedly feel he is “motivated,” according to the news outlet.
Stern is reportedly handling preliminary hearings, but will move up in the ranks as time goes on.
The 50-year-old met Smith in 1998 when she was suing the estate of her late husband, oilman J. Howard Marshall, for half of his estate.
Stern stopped practicing law after he started shooting Smith’s E! reality show, The Anna Nicole Show, which aired from 2002 to 2004. The Playboy model died in 2007.
The two dated for the rest of Smith’s life, and even exchanged vows and rings in a non-binding commitment ceremony in the Bahamas just months before Smith died from a prescription-drug overdose. He was also listed as the father on the birth certificate of Smith’s daughter, Dannielyn, even though it was later proven that Larry Birkhead was the father.
A felony conviction against Stern for using fake names on Smith’s prescriptions was dismissed in 2015.
The L.A. County Public Defenders Office has 36 offices employing more than 1,100 employees, including lawyers, paralegals, investigators, psychiatric social workers and administrative staff.
“Public Defenders provide legal representation to indigent criminal defendants and juveniles in the Superior Court of the County as well as in state and federal appellate courts,” reads the office’s mission statement. “The department strives to defend the liberties of indigent clients, protect their rights, and advocate for clients’ access to resources in order to be productive members of the community.”
Photo credit: Scott Suchman / Contributor / Getty
Most Viewed
-
(Photo by Ben Curtis – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images) -
US singer Miley Cyrus attends the 97th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 2, 2025. (Photo by Angeka Weiss/AFP via Getty Images) -
Antique TV set with color bars, on black background. 3D rendering -
NEW YORK CITY – DECEMBER 19: "Toil and Trouble" – Elsbeth is thrown into the world of television after the showrunner of a long-running police procedural is brutally murdered in his office, and although it appears to be the act of a disgruntled fan, she begins to suspect the show's longtime star Regina Coburn (Laurie Metcalf) who yearns for artistic fulfillment. Meanwhile, Judge Crawford (Michael Emerson) continues to be a thorn in Elsbeth's side, on the CBS original series ELSBETH, Thursday, Dec. 19 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs). Pictured (L-R): Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni and Carra Patterson as Kaya Blanke. (Photo by Michael Parmelee/CBS via Getty Images)
