Larry Seidlin, the former Fort Lauderdale judge, is harshly critical of Smith's lawyer-turned-companion Howard K. Stern, and of the police investigations into the deaths of the Playboy Playmate and her son. But as provocatively titled as "The Killing of Anna Nicole Smith" is, Seidlin offers no evidence either death was anything more than the accidental drug overdoses they were deemed.
"I think enablers should be punished," Seidlin writes, referring to Stern. "How about keeping her off drugs while she was alive? He was with her every day; how about saying no, and if she kicks your ass out, then goodbye and good luck."
Then, the judge says, "we won't have all this celebrity blood on our hands."
Seidlin presided over the six-day televised hearing into the fate of Smith's body, shortly after her February 2007 death. His jurisdiction was limited to control of Smith's body; Florida never charged anyone in connection with her death. A California court is determining whether she was illegally given drugs.
Seidlin's hearing became a national obsession, with a cast of characters suited for reality TV. Bronx-born Seidlin, a former New York cab driver, was full of smart-alecky one-liners and nicknames for the massive roster of attorneys and witnesses. For example, he called Dr. Joshua Perper, the medical examiner, "Dr. Pepper."
"I'm not going to talk about this case ever again," he promised at its close. But, of course, he did and he remained in the news. He even tried to parlay his fame into a TV show. Now he has his book, from Canada-based Transit Publishing, which specializes in celebrity biographies.
Meanwhile, Stern and two of Smith's doctors are scheduled to go on trial Aug. 4 on charges that they illegally funneled sedatives and opiates to the model. They have pleaded not guilty and are not charged with causing Smith's death.
Seidlin says Stern "exercised a great amount of control over Anna Nicole by maintaining and reviewing her drug desires and addiction." He calls for reopening investigations into the death of her 20-year-old son, Daniel Smith, in September 2006 and of the model five months later, noting Stern was present at both. He says police bungled the original investigations.
Stern's attorney, Steve Sadow, had no immediate comment on the book.
Much of Seidlin's book is a rehash of the Smith hearings he oversaw, simply reprinting court transcripts with commentary mixed in. He frequently tries to burnish his own image as a judge, but also appears to question the one decision he made in the case.
"I want her buried with her son in the Bahamas," he said through tears at the time. "I want them to be together."
Throughout the book, though, Seidlin is sympathetic to Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, who fought for her estranged daughter's burial in her native Texas. He calls for her reburial there, or possibly in California, saying "Her soul and Danny's soul need to be placed on sacred ground in the Lone Star state with people who grew up with her and loved her in her simpler days."
He admits in the book that he "got a little hoaky ... a little corny" during the trial. He defends against criticism that his showboating drastically elongated proceedings, saying anyone who thinks they could have been done in a day or two "is a complete idiot." He also says he's not ashamed of sobbing on the bench, nor has he shed his last tear over the case.
As for when he first learned he would be handling the case, Seidlin said he received a call from his judicial assistant alerting him they needed to schedule an emergency hearing.
"Who is Anna Nicole Smith?" he said he asked his wife, who was incredulous he didn't know.
"If she played second base for the Yankees," he retorted, "I'd know her."
