Anna Nichole Smith

Have you ever wondered what there was about Anna's attempt to get hold of some of the money she earned by marrying an octogenarian when she was in her 20's that would get her in front of the Supreme Court? I wondered, but was not really curious enough to make an effort to see what the legal question was. Well, I happened onto a column in the Wall Street Journal which put it succinctly enough for me to read up on the subject. It seems like when the old guy died his will went to Probate in Texas where she was cut out since she wasn't in the will and all she had was a claim she had been told by him she was in for the loot. Ordinarily that would be the end of it, but she somehow went bankrupt and sued in California bankruptcy court where she won. When this was appealed it went to the infamous 9th Circuit since it was big enough to be a federal matter.This is where the Supreme Court got involved since probate matters are left to state courts and the 9th Circuit overturned the California judgement in Anna's favor. So, the question before the Supremes is this: Will they keep probate matters in state courts where it is nice and tidy or can creative lawyers shift the matter into federal courts? That is the extent of my knowledge. I don't even know what verdict old Anna is rooting for. In most cases, however, I root for Texas over california.