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Judge Prepares to Decide Anna Nicole Smith's Final Resting Place; Barack and Hillary Battle Over Hollywood Support
Aired February 22, 2007 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Don Lemon.
Blurring the line between politics and showbiz, while Hollywood gets in the middle of a Democratic muddle -- why not ask Chris Rock to weigh in on that?
PHILLIPS: Plus: Where is Britney Spears? I know all of you are asking that question. We're tracking her latest moves.
LEMON: And waiting for the verdict in the perjury trial of Scooter Libby. We're keeping tabs, as the jury deliberates.
Don't go anywhere. You're right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: A race against time at the Anna Nicole Smith hearing. And it may be taking a toll on some of the litigants.
The judge says he needs to make a decision by tomorrow on where Smith's body will be buried, but the hearing was abruptly interrupted this afternoon when an attorney fainted.
CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti joins us now from the courthouse in Fort Lauderdale with the latest.
He's OK, right, Susan?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He is. Court has resumed. He's all right. He had a diabetic fainting spell. Someone gave him a candy bar, and he came to. He is -- he's all right.
Now, testimony is back under way. And, this afternoon, the first witness we are hearing from -- or the second witness, actually -- is a man by the name of Ford Shelley. He is related to a developer in the Bahamas who, in effect, sold the house in which Howard K. Stern and Anna -- Anna Nicole Smith were living.
And he is taking the witness stand, and just said something rather startling, perhaps unexpected. He is claiming that Larry Birkhead is the father of Anna Nicole's daughter.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) FORD SHELLEY, WITNESS: As she was there, she stressed to us the urgency of wanting to move, and asked us -- asked me to talk with my attorney in Myrtle Beach what the laws were to unwed mothers and what father's rights were. She told us that she was pregnant with Larry Birkhead's child, and that she did not want him to have any rights to the child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Now, the reason this testimony might be critical to the judge is that you will recall that Howard K. Stern has maintained all along that he is the biological father of Anna Nicole Smith's daughter and that his name is on the birth certificate.
Now, Shelley, this man on the witness stand, has also said that -- he has not said it yet, but he has acknowledged to the police that he took items from the house in the Bahamas after Anna Nicole Smith died at the Hard Rock Hotel in Florida, items that included computer hard drives, photographs and personal items, and took them back to his home in South Carolina, and turned them over to the authorities there for safekeeping. There is an investigation going on about that now.
Now, we also heard key testimony this day from Larry Birkhead, who, remember, claims that he is the biological father of Anna Nicole Smith's child. And he said that he was pressured by both Smith and Stern to sign a contract, because they wanted him to keep quiet about allegedly being the father of her daughter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY BIRKHEAD, EX-BOYFRIEND OF ANNA NICOLE SMITH: When it was announced that Anna Nicole was pregnant, there was a behind-the-scenes war with me and Mr. Stern, where he had called me and told me to deny that I was the father of the child on press time with a specific magazine.
And he -- he called me like 200 times. I was working an event, and he was telling me the importance of me getting my name out, because my name was being attached to the pregnancy. And he said that, if this goes down and my name is out there, that, you know, this is going to be bad, and, you know, just to deny, deny, deny.
And I said: I did say no comment.
He says: No, I want -- what I want you to do is go back and say, if she's pregnant, you have nothing to do with it.
And he called me so many times in the middle of an employ -- in a job that I was at, that I finally just agreed, to get him off my back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Now, the judge has said, time and again, that time is of the essence. And he promises that today will be the end of all the testimony in this case. It does appear that things are winding down. At the end of the day, the judge said, at some point, he would like to hear from all of the attorneys in written form as to what their recommendations are from all sides about how they would solve this dilemma about what to do with Anna Nicole Smith's remains.
The judge will announce his decision tomorrow -- back to you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And I'm sure it will be colorful.
Susan Candiotti, thanks.
LEMON: Britney Spears back in rehab again -- that word from TMZ.com, just as Spears' soon-to-be-ex, Kevin Federline, was heading to family court in L.A.
That emergency hearing is canceled. Federline wants sole custody of the couple's two children, 5-month-old Jayden and 17-month-old Sean.
In the past week, Spears reportedly has checked into and out of two rehabilitation centers, and, in between, shaved her head.
PHILLIPS: After the fall of Saddam Hussein, no date has meant more to the war in Iraq than today's, February 22. On this date one year ago, some group blew up the revered Shiite mosque in Samarra, just north of Baghdad.
Nobody was killed or even hurt, but the blast lit the fuse on an explosive wave of Shiite-Sunni violence that shows little sign of easing. It's still so tense, so unstable, so dangerous in Samarra, no effort has yet been made to rebuild that mosque.
LEMON: More now on the impact of this Samarra bombing. Some of the video we're about to show is very graphic and can be difficult to watch. It catalogs a bloody spiral of vengeance that has made the past year in Iraq, by almost any standard, a disaster.
We have chosen not to show any actual executions, but, again, the images may be difficult to watch.
Here is CNN's Michael Ware.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These men are going TO die, Shia, accused of being militia members executed by Sunni hard-liners because they believe in a different brand of Islam -- Their deaths displayed in this slickly produced video by the Iraqi guerrilla group Ansar al-Sunna, loosely affiliated to al Qaeda.
This footage, typical of images released by Ansar al-Sunna and seen on Iraqi TV stations, was distributed by the group in the last few weeks. And as Sunnis kill Shia, so too, Shia kill Sunnis, like these men, kidnapped, tortured, their bodies, hands still bound, dumped in a Baghdad neighborhood controlled by a Shia militia. Dozens of bodies appear on the capital streets every morning.
To Iraqis, this is civil war, what it looks like, what it is, a daily accumulation of terrible moments, just like these, borne by families on both sides of Iraq's sectarian divide. Sectarian violence has plagued Iraq almost since the invasion itself.
But its full fury was not unleashed until one year ago -- February 22, 2006, when this holy place was blown apart -- the Golden Dome shrine in the town of Samarra, north of Baghdad, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam. Its bombing so incendiary, moderate Shia leaders who had managed to hold back their faithful in the face of violent provocation for nearly two years finally lost control.
The weeks after the bombing said to be by al Qaeda, though it never claimed responsibility, saw scores of Sunni mosques attacked. This one raked with machine gunfire. The blood of its attendants staining the floor.
What had been ad hoc sectarian attacks turned into systematic widespread campaigns of ethnic cleansing, roaming death squads and indiscriminate suicide bombings.
Included in the insurgent video, a sermon by a senior Shia cleric calling for revenge against Sunnis just days, says a Mahdi army source, after the Samarra bombing.
HAZIM AL-ARAJI, SENIOR SADR SHIITE CLERIC (through translator): If you want somebody to tell you to kill and there is no one, I tell you to kill. I take responsibility. Kill any Wahhabi. Kill any Baathist.
WARE: A top aide to the radical Shia militia leader Muqtada al- Sadr, the cleric's words used on this insurgent video as a warning to fellow Sunnis.
AL-ARAJI (through translator): It's your responsibility, my responsibility and the responsibility of every cleric and tribal leader to mobilize a devout Shiite army to kill Baathists and Takfiri. The Imam orders you to kill.
WARE: Though Mahdi army sources say he was quickly ordered to curb his public anger, the sentiment was widely felt.
This civil war, sparked by the Samarra bombing, defined by the bloodletting that followed is the legacy of this man, Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, the al Qaeda in Iraq leader assassinated by a U.S. missile in June.
He planned it from the beginning, as this letter, intercepted and released by U.S. intelligence agencies and the coalition administration in February 2004 clearly outlines. Zarqawi, an extremist Sunni, described Shia as the most evil of mankind and believed only by provoking them into the kind of violence seen in the wake of Samarra would the slumbering Sunni nation awake and eventually emerge victorious.
One year on, death squads, the U.S. military says are protected by and hidden within Iraq's police forces haunt a terrified Sunni community.
Al Qaeda assassination teams and car bomb attacks slaughter Shia in their neighborhoods. Unknown bodies float down the Tigris River. And Iraq is much closer to what Zarqawi wanted it to be.
Michael Ware, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, the gloves come off between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARVEY LEVIN, MANAGING EDITOR, TMZ.COM: Hillary Clinton's Hollywood base is crumbling. It's crumbling partly because of what she is doing and partly because Barack Obama is magic in this town.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: We're going to tell you who sparked these war of words straight ahead from the NEWSROOM.
LEMON: Eight women and four men deciding the fate of Lewis Scooter Libby. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, we look at the jury while they look at the facts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, they don't call it the left coast for nothing. When it comes to Hollywood, Democrats have a lock on most of the cash and star endorsements.
And those are the stakes in the sudden spat between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. In the past, Hollywood really, really liked the Clintons, but Obama is stealing some of that limelight, not to mention the aforementioned cash.
Here is our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Tuesday night, David Geffen, a Hollywood mogul who used to be close to the Clintons, hosted a fund-raiser for Barack Obama that reportedly raised more than $1 million. It seems that didn't sit well with the Hillary Clinton campaign. MARTIN KAPLAN, DIRECTOR, NORMAN LEAR CENTER: And the word is that she was telling her friends: You can't give to everybody. You have got to just give to me.
And that didn't go down so well, because a number of people in Hollywood have said that it's a good thing for the Democratic Party to have a robust debate.
SCHNEIDER: That, they're getting.
Maureen Dowd of "The New York Times" quoted Geffen as saying: "I don't think that another polarizing figure, no matter how smart she is and no matter how ambitious she is -- and, God knows, is there anybody more ambitious than Hillary Clinton? -- can bring the country together."
Geffen called Bill Clinton a reckless guy and said of the Clintons: "Everybody in politics lies, but they do it with such ease, it's troubling."
The Clinton campaign shot back with a statement saying: "If Senator Obama is indeed sincere about his repeated claims to change the tone of our politics, he should immediately denounce these remarks, remove Mr. Geffen from his campaign, and return his money.
The Obama campaign returned fire, saying: "It is ironic that the Clintons had no problem with David Geffen when he was raising them $18 million and sleeping, at their invitation, in the Lincoln Bedroom."
One Hollywood observer believes Clinton is in trouble here, partly because of the way she's handling the Iraq issue.
HARVEY LEVIN, MANAGING EDITOR, TMZ.COM: Hillary Clinton's Hollywood base is crumbling. It's crumbling partly because of what she is doing and partly because Barack Obama is magic in this town.
SCHNEIDER: On the other hand:
KAPLAN: Whatever people's reservations are about Senator Clinton, it's not going to stop them from giving money to her. It is going to stop them from giving exclusively to her. And, certainly, they have, in their own minds, a number of issues about her. Electability is one of them.
SCHNEIDER (on camera): Mr. Geffen says he has no formal role in the Obama campaign -- quote -- "Nor will I, other than to continue to offer my strongest possible personal support to his candidacy."
He adds that his comments -- quote -- "which were accurately by Maureen Dowd, reflect solely by personal beliefs regarding the Clintons."
Bill Schneider, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE) LEMON: Well, sometimes, here in the NEWSROOM, we like to go outside the mainstream to bring you political views you won't hear in Washington -- Chris Rock, for example.
In a way that only he can, the actor and comedian told me what he thinks about the Illinois senator who is shaking up the race for the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: What do you think of Barack Obama?
CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: I like him. He seems qualified. He seems like a nice guy, you know? He seems new and fresh, you know? I can't say that about anybody else. So, no, I like Barack.
LEMON: You do.
ROCK: I like him a lot.
LEMON: Why? Tell me why. Just -- well, you said he is new and fresh.
(CROSSTALK)
ROCK: I like him because he gave me $80 one time.
(LAUGHTER)
ROCK: And all I needed was money for a phone call, and he gave me 80 bucks.
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
ROCK: And I said, you know what? That Barack is a nice guy.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Well, when it comes to power and influence, Rock says your bank balance means a lot more than your party platform. And, by coincidence, he brought up David Geffen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROCK: The real power is having money and being able to hire and fire people at will. You know, David Geffen has got power.
LEMON: Right.
ROCK: You know, no one is: Hey, Dave, get out. No one is saying that.
LEMON: Right.
ROCK: So, when you have that, that's the real power.
LEMON: And the power is in the presidency, I mean, if we -- if, for the first time, we have an African-American who has a really viable chance of -- of...
ROCK: Yes, yes. But, you know, I would rather have, you know, a black guy like Steve Jobs...
(LAUGHTER)
ROCK: ... than a president, to tell you the truth.
LEMON: Why is that?
(CROSSTALK)
ROCK: I'm just -- I'm just like give me four guys with, like, real money.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well, I will have more on my interview with Chris Rock in the days ahead, including a preview of his new movie, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: Remember, CNN is the place to see the first presidential debates of the new campaign season. Mark your calendar for April 4 and 5. That's when CNN will co-host Republican and Democratic debates live from New Hampshire.
And, on November 4, exactly one year from Election Day, CNN will air a Democratic candidates debate live from Nevada.
LEMON: The jurors work. Everybody else waits in the Lewis Scooter Libby trial. It's the second day of deliberations in a case involving intrigue and power struggles inside the White House.
CNN's Brian Todd is at the trial.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Judge Reggie Walton sends 12 citizens off to make one of the biggest decisions of their lives. One instruction stands out: Consider your assessment of the memory capacity of the person whose memory is in question.
GUY SINGER, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: In this case, it's obviously critical. This is a case where, if the jurors are going to focus on any one instruction, that one goes to the defense's entire argument.
TODD: The argument that Lewis Scooter Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, did not lie to investigators, as is charged, but misremembered conversations with reporters about the CIA job of Valerie Plame Wilson, the wife of an administration critic.
Jurors are told, don't hold Libby's decision not to testify against him -- the defendant's fate in the hands of an educated panel of two African-American women, six white women and four white men. They include a museum curator, a Web architect, a government lawyer and a former "Washington Post" employee who once worked for Bob Woodward, the reporter, who testified for the defense, a studious group that pulled off one of the most bizarre displays ever seen from a jury.
Valentine's Day, they returned from a break wearing identical red T-shirts with hearts on them, all but one juror. Another, a retired math teacher, reads a statement thanking the judge and declaring, "While we're united in this, this is where our unity ends."
He then says they're committed to looking at the evidence independently. It draws uneasy smiles from the attorneys.
SINGER: You know, both sides are -- the wheels are spinning inside, and they're thinking about what this means. And they're smiling along, because that's all you can do.
TODD (on camera): Now all either side can do is wait. Scooter Libby waits, knowing, if this doesn't go in his favor, he could spend up to 30 years in jail.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Diana's baby boy ready to deploy -- details on Prince Harry's mission to Iraq -- straight ahead from the NEWSROOM.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange.
When NEWSROOM returns, I will tell you how Wal-Mart and Yahoo! have seen the light when it comes to energy conservation.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: A ruling expected to come at any moment in the Anna Nicole Smith hearing.
Let's listen in to the judge now.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
JUDGE LARRY SEIDLIN, BROWARD COUNTY FAMILY COURT: ... as the flame is going out. I want to preserve the beauty of your daughter. I want to preserve the respect, the beauty that she -- she wanted, that you played with her as a child, and you knew what she wanted. She -- she went for her dream. And, apparently, from what I hear, she achieved it. She just, unfortunately, didn't have the strength that some of us have to fight through this, because you all feel the pressure, just from a few-day hearing. It's unbelievable. It's unbelievable.
They try to put a negative hat on everybody here. You know, everyone, they try to put a negative hat on. The parties especially, they try to put a hat on.
And I saw you all here. I don't think anyone is bad, so to speak, so bad. There's -- there are shades are gray. I think, if you all one day get it together, I -- I -- I mean, I, as a court, will -- would absolutely submit to you that you should resolve a lot of this, that you have enough brain power at each table here to have a global remedy.
And I'm going to make some announcements right now. I kept your family division case to keep everything here. It -- it -- it seized the moment.
But Judge Corter (ph) is a terrific judge. He has indicating he wants to retain it. There is nothing wrong with me -- he is holding his case. I never signed an order, because I really didn't want to step on his toes. In order for me to accept the case, the judge has to relinquish it. I never went in to ask him to relinquish it.
I kept everyone here, though.
(CROSSTALK)
SEIDLIN: I kept everything here, because I made it easier for you all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just for the record, though...
SEIDLIN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... we need to say that, you know, Your Honor did hear evidence about the temporary emergency injunction, and vacated it as moot. They withdrew it.
SEIDLIN: Well, they withdrew that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, their pending motion is the one that is going...
(CROSSTALK)
SEIDLIN: Those pending motions, you're going to go in front of my good friend...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And that was our desire, Your Honor.
(CROSSTALK)
SEIDLIN: You're going to go in front of my good friend, my colleague. He has been next door to me. We're on the same floor.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You came through. You came through. I thank you.
SEIDLIN: You sort of knew I was going to go there.
(CROSSTALK)
SEIDLIN: But I want -- I didn't want you running around.
(LAUGHTER)
SEIDLIN: I didn't want you running around the building, like a chicken without a head.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you...
(CROSSTALK)
SEIDLIN: What is the sense of it? I kept everyone here. It was better.
(LAUGHTER)
SEIDLIN: There is a method to what I was doing.
So, when I enter this final proposal, which I'm really going to do in a few minutes, I'm done. I have relinquished jurisdiction.
And I -- I'm fashioning a remedy. I'm still -- it's -- it's evolving. It's evolving. But I -- I -- I'm going to try to satisfy everybody.
But I'm just telling you, momma, I feel for you. I absolutely feel for you. I feel for you. You know, I listened to you. You know, they paint these pictures, until you talk to a person. Now, I never read any of this stuff. I never saw it on TV, or anything like that.
I -- I went -- there is my Dr. Perper. You know, when I called -- I told you I would be calling you, you didn't -- yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure, Your Honor.
SEIDLIN: When I pronounce the -- the final resolution in this case, I want you to understand that I have reviewed absolutely everything.
I have suffered with this. I have struggled with this. I have shed tears for your -- your little girl and your -- and your grandchild. But I hope -- because I will tell you something. In the old days, I would be banging some heads together. I mean it.
You all really should do the right thing by this Dannie -- Dannielynn. You should get into a jurisdiction immediately and have every -- you two are the primary potentials here -- to submit to a DNA and find out who the father is. It's enough baloney here. It's enough baloney.
(CROSSTALK)
SEIDLIN: You know, it's -- if you were alone in my chambers, I will tell you -- oh.
(LAUGHTER)
SEIDLIN: My blood pressure would go up, but thank God it's -- it's OK.
But...
(LAUGHTER)
SEIDLIN: I -- I -- you know, I -- I walked into this building, really, at age 26, as a kid. I was a stranger in a strange land. And I always thought I would leave at 56. You stay 30 years. And I wanted to walk out of here -- see? It's true.
I wanted to walk out of here standing up, standing erect, not -- I kid around with my friends and family. I didn't want to be carried out of here, like happened to you, Texas, for a minute.
(LAUGHTER)
SEIDLIN: No, no. I -- I wanted to walk out of here healthy. I wanted to walk out of here at 56 healthy. You understand? I wanted to feel good. This thing wore me out. I'm going to take a while to regenerate.
And we all cried for her. You know we were in the chambers. You all heard me crying. I got to look tough, mamma. But, you know, this gets to me, too. And -- and -- and we cried for her. We had a service here. We did everything here. We had a service for her, all of us here today and all of the other days.
And I run away from services. I can't stand going to a funeral. I can't stand talking about that. Even though I'm in probate, we do contested wills and trusts and guardianships. I don't get into the death part of it. I'm trying to stay alive. You know? But that's another subject.
So I was supposed to leave here July '06. I don't think my wife wants me to come home. I got a little baby. This is the case -- this is the one I resolve. I don't have your proposed final judgment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your honor, the clerk is making (INAUDIBLE) because I was editing it while you were speaking. SEIDLIN: I did a lot of talking. You know, the more you talked in this business, the worse off you are, really. The less you say, the better. I mean I knew that from the beginning.
But the truth be known, I wanted you all to know, you three parties, because that's the only ones I'm really interested in. I mean, I wanted always to treat the lawyers well. But I wanted you to know the way I was thinking. I even stopped at times to try and -- each morning I try to bring us to where we were at.
I may have bored you, but I wanted to at least let you know what I was thinking. I don't know if you all will ever be in the same room again. I don't know if you ever will be. But in the old days, I wouldn't have let you go. I really -- I would of never let you guys all go unless I wrapped this whole thing in, unless I had wrapped at all up. But I can't. I can't wrap it up.
And I'm not going to talk about this case ever again.
I'm going to ask Dr. Perper to wait here. I'm going to have a final resolution. I'm trying to cut it as equitably as I can. But what worries me -- and I'm not letting the cat out of the bag -- but what worries me is the boy, Danny, already is in the grave. He's in the Bahamas. It could have been San Francisco, it could have been the Bronx. He's in the Bahamas.
And I get around these places. You know, I travel. I talk to everybody. That's why I bring my in-laws with me because I know my wife will be yelling I'm not taking care of the kids. And I talk to everybody. The way I talk to you is the way I am. Do you understand? And I don't know how long it will take in the Bahamas if you were to go on that mission. Does it make sense? It's something you'll talk to your lawyers.
But I was concerned about Danny. He's in the ground in the Bahamas. And Nicole wants to be in that ground. But I think what I'm going to do, and I've been thinking about it. I didn't come to any conclusions til now, til right now.
But I'm trying to figure out how I can in a spiritual sense bring it all together. Now, the Supreme Court of Florida says justice is not perfect. It's what -- it's what is reasonable. It's what is reasonable. And when you leave a court of law, you try to get -- you try to get a reasonable result. It's not perfect. It's what's reasonable and equitable. And I don't know if any court will really review my decision today. I sat here. I heard absolutely everything.
I request that you all stay here. And in the next 15 minutes, I'm going to be back. I'm going to pronounce the disposition of this case. And I hope when you hear it, you handle it with the respect and dignity that Anna Nicole Smith would want. I hope when you hear it, you handle it so that little Dannielynn can have this respect in the future because I think she will look at these proceedings. They will be available.
I think we all handled ourselves pretty well. I think it was a lot of he said/she said. And I think there's reasons why these things were said.
All right. You want a decision. You don't want any more talk. I'm going to go back there and I'm going to review this. And we'll see you in about 15 minutes.
F: Court stands in recess for 15 minutes.
LEMON: Wow!
PHILLIPS: I'm not quite sure if he's crazy or if he's brilliant. I feel like -- I feel like he was sitting on a couch and we're all the therapists and we're supposed to tell him what he should do next. It's like he's having a nervous breakdown!
LEMON: Yes, and you know what? It's amazing because we've been talking about him, obviously, a taxi driver, you know, and then all of a sudden he becomes a judge. There have been reports saying that he possibly is auditioning. These are just claims that he's auditioning for some type of judge show along the lines of "Judge Judy". But, I mean, it's great moment in television, don't you think?
PHILLIPS: According to his friends he paid his dues. He was a taxi driver to pay for college and he decided he wanted to go to law school and juggled a lot of things. And he did it.
His co-workers say he's always been a bit dramatic but I think this is taking it to a whole another level. He's all of the characters. I'm seeing the TV movie coming after this decision is made.
LEMON: I am, too. Him tearing up here today. And then also, of course, Kyra, the attorney for Larry Birkhead passing out in court today -- Virgie Arthur's attorney, I should say, passing out in court today because he's a diabetic.
The judge here is saying, "You know what? I'm trying to satisfy everyone." And he said about the mother. He goes, "I'm listening to you, mamma." I'm sure you heard that. And he says, "You know, I suffered and I struggled with this and I also shed some tears." And then he actually teared up a little bit.
But the -- here's the thing. He has been a great moment in television. But there's actually a serious decision that's going to happen right now at least in 15 minutes at 3:35 Eastern, he said he's going to come back in 15 minutes.
And so why don't we go to someone who's standing by outside the courtroom. She has been following all of this, Kyra, is our very own Susan Candiotti.
Susan, you're out there on the scene. What's going on? Tell us your perspective from there.
CANDIOTTI: Well, I mean, this took all of us by surprise. Once again, this very unorthodox judge has done something surprising yet again. We were listening to testimony. It seemed to be winding down. He had just heard from the man who was the father of Danny.
And then, all of a sudden, he says, "OK, enough. I'm going to announce a decision today. I know I told you all I was going to announce tomorrow, but here's a surprise. I'm going to announce it now."
And we all sat up and took notice of this. You're looking at Larry Birkhead, the ex-boyfriend of Anna Nicole Smith, who claims that he is the biological father of Anna Nicole's daughter, Dannielynn. Other parties and lawyers lingering in court there, I'm sure, scratching their heads as much as we are, because the lawyers have been told that they were supposed to put in writing what their recommendations were for this judge. And he was going to consider them and come back tomorrow -- we've said it time and time again -- and announce the final ruling about who would get Anna Nicole Smith's remains.
And now this! We're as flabbergasted as anyone else.
But just to recap, he said that he wants a final resolution. It would seem to indicate saying that he's troubled most by the fact that her son Daniel is buried in the Bahamas and Anna Nicole Smith has told a number of people, according to testimony, that she wants to be near her son. He said he's taking great notice of that.
And he teared up. He got emotional when he said justice is not perfect. And then, finally, he said this: "I'm not going to decide the paternity case." But he said, "Enough baloney here." The judge's words, "Someone has to find out who the father is after I make this judgment" -- Don.
LEMON: OK. Susan Candiotti, thank you so much for that. You brought up a very interesting point, she did, Kyra, in this. Because he said, "You know what? She -- her son is already in the ground in the Bahamas."
So I'm wondering if he's sort of telling us where he's going to lean in this possibly. So we shall see. And probably...
PHILLIPS: You never know what's going to happen with this judge. He's taking a break. He's going to come back and give us a decision. So, of course, we're waiting for that. We'll take it live as soon as it happens.
LEMON: We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEIDLIN: But I'm trying to figure out how I can, in a spiritual sense, bring it all together. Now, the supreme court of Florida says justice is not perfect. It's what -- it's what is reasonable. It's what is reasonable. It's what is reasonable.
(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: Well, he used to drive cabs to get through college and more than a few lawyers still consider Larry Seidlin a bit of a hack. And if you've been viewing to the Anna Nicole Smith case in Florida, the bombastic judge needs no introduction.
Neither does our Jeffrey Toobin. He's been following all the drama from the courtroom. Jeffrey, I don't think any of us has seen anything like this.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: We have just seen Judge Judy's wacky little brother. This guy is just so far out of control. You know, he says he wants to bring everything together in a spiritual sense. Well you know, judges actually have a job and that is to apply the law, which never gets mentioned in this courtroom.
PHILLIPS: Jeffrey, he sounds like he is going crazy. Seriously, he sounds like he is about to have a nervous breakdown. He's bringing up his wife and his baby and how his wife doesn't want him coming home. I mean, what is wrong with this guy?
TOOBIN: Well, this -- I mean, if you've been following this proceeding since the beginning, it's been like an autobiography of the judge. He talked earlier about how he didn't have a kid until he was 50 and how meaningful that was to him and how he spent more than half of his life in Florida and how much he loves Florida.
I mean, this is so far outside the realm of the planet on which that I have studied and practiced law. I wouldn't begin to venture how he is -- how he's going to rule.
But, I mean, this is not what judges are supposed to do. They have rules passed by the state legislature that they're supposed to apply. They're not supposed to have emotional outpourings that inspire them on how to resolve the cases before them.
PHILLIPS: Is this unethical in any way?
TOOBIN: I wouldn't call it unethical exactly. But, I mean, we'll see when he rules he actually give legal reasons for what he says.
It's not like it's unethical in the sense that he's taking money or he is doing something, you know, showing some sort of personal corruption. But this is not how judges are supposed to act. They're not supposed to, for example, have lawyers sing in the courtroom as happened today.
They're not supposed to have lawyers ask them out for a drink during the trial as happened earlier today. It's not unethical. It's just not judicial, I would say.
PHILLIPS: And allegedly, he has made demo tapes, so is it possible that he's using this as a way to work on being Judge Judy's little brother?
TOOBIN: You know, that suggests to me a level of calculation that is sort of beyond him. He seems sort of so much out there. He is so much pouring out his soul. He seems sort of incapable of that kind of calculation. Although, you know, I suppose it's possible. My sense is that he is just sort of emoting and he's not really auditioning.
PHILLIPS: Is he OK?
TOOBIN: We got to get Sanjay Gupta here and ask him. And I think this is really more Sanjay's territory.
PHILLIPS: We need a brain scan and EKG?
TOOBIN: Yes. I think we're outside of my jurisdiction at the moment.
PHILLIPS: Dr. Jeffrey Toobin/lawyer extraordinare, stay with us because we're waiting on that decision -- Don?
LEMON: You know, I think the guy is just animated. You know, he loves his job. But you know, it was a very interesting moment on "LARRY KING LIVE" last night. I don't know if you guys saw it, where Larry King and Harvey Levin were talking and he said, is this like a floating judge show?
And Harvey, I guess his basic response was we're seeing the audition tape right now for a judge series. So that's sort of what the belief is here.
Kyra, I wonder how the folks are reacting outside the courthouse where this is all happening. Of course, a judge will have his decision in a few minutes. And as soon as he does, we'll bring that to you live. But why don't we go to Susan Candiotti. Susan, are you talking to folks there? And are they telling you how -- what they think of what this judge's rantings or whatever you want to call them?
CANDIOTTI: Well, throughout all of the proceedings, people have said, you know, this is how he is every day. This is this man's style. When people and things get heated in his courtroom, he diffuses them with anecdotes, that's what he does. So for him to do this, well it's one more notch in his belt, you could say as to how he can surprise people.
Catch them off guard, that's what he apparently likes to do. Now in terms of people sitting around out here, you know, until we told them, because they are all sitting here waiting to see what happened, they didn't know.
I told a couple of women who were sitting here. In fact, you might be able to see one woman over my shoulder. You see three women back there. She is the one to the far left. She said that she quit her job up in Canada in Toronto to come down here to follow this in person because she's enthralled by this judge and what is happening in this particular case.
LEMON: Hey, Susan and let me jump in here.
CANDIOTTI: Sure.
LEMON: This is some of what the guy said. And maybe you can tell me how you feel about this.
He says, "I'm trying to satisfy everyone here." "I hate -- I've been listening to you, mamma, "is one of the things he said. He said, "I've suffered, I've struggled and I've shed tears." Then he said, "You guys should submit to a DNA test to find out who the father is. Enough already."
And that was just a little bit of what he had to say. But you say this seems like a little bit more. We've been listening all week to this. And it seems like a little bit more out of character, a little bit more animated than he has been all week.
CANDIOTTI: I don't know that I would necessarily agree with that. I think this fits right in with his M.O., if you will. But I will say this. I agree with you, he has kept his cool throughout, but this is the first time we saw him get a little bit emotional.
A little bit emotional specifically when he said, "You know, justice is not perfect but we've got to bring at all together and sometimes it's what's reasonable that we have to look for." And that is when he did get -- he did tear up and wipe his eye a little bit. That was out of character.
LEMON: We're going to get back to you as soon as he makes a decision. But thank you very much for that.
PHILLIPS: Well, if you missed it, here is Judge Larry Seidlin uncensored.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEIDLIN: Good morning, everyone.
CROWD: Good morning, your honor.
SEIDLIN: Not only are we having a proceeding, but we're also grieving together, if you want to phrase it that way. It's a grieving process. All of us are suffering from it. So we have father, we have another man who may be the father or if he's not the father, at minimum, he is acting as a father and we have grandma.
And you three, if it was a course, if it was a case in a normal course of time, I, as a family judge, would require you, I would take you to the wood shed a few times. When you worked as a deputy in the sheriff's department, how many employees...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: All right, let's go back live to the judge. Let's see if he comes forward with a decision.
SEIDLIN: I'm going to read the essence of my disposition concerning this. I want it to be crystal clear, first that once this order is signed, you all are done with me. I've relinquished jurisdiction to a judge that's indicated he wants to handle the rest of this case. I had a conversation with him. And he indicates he wants the case. And he's a fine judge and you'll get him up to speed, I'm sure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, your honor. We appreciate it.
SEIDLIN: Right.
I kept you here for many reasons.
I might be able to read it without glasses.
I hope when it's read we're dignified. I hope when it's read, we're dignified and we keep our cool.
What's that?
I got a pair. Still vain.
Oh.
The court and the participants in the matter -- I'm just reading the highlight of the conclusion. There's a lot more to it, but I'm just giving you the conclusion. You want to read how I get there, of course.
The court and its participants in the matter before -- before have taken a long journey in a very compressed period of time. Although a host of matters have been touched on and a multitude of issues have been raised, there is only one issue before this court to decide: who is entitled to the custody of the remains of Anna Nicole Smith?
There could be only one proper and equitable answer to that question. Dannielynn, Anna Nicole's only child and heir, next of kin. Therefore, based on the court's review and analysis of argument, testimony and materials presented to it, the court orders and adjudges as follows.
Dannielynn's motion is grand. Stern's verified petition is denied. Arthur's motion to deny -- to dismiss is denied as moot. Arthur's cross-petition is denied.
Richard Millstein (ph), esquire, as a guardian ad litem for Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern, is awarded custody of the remains of Anna Nicole Smith.
The Broward County medical examiner is ordered to release those remains to Millstein in accordance with Millstein's directives.
But here's where Millstein is directed to consult with Arthur, Birkhead and Stern with respect to the disposition of Anna Nicole Smith's remains.
However, the manner, means and all aspects of handling of those remains from their release by the Broward medical examiner to their final internment are with Millstein's sole and absolute discretion, as guided by the best interests of Dannielynn Stern.
You'll read it.
But I want her buried. I want her buried with her son.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
SEIDLIN: No, there's no shouting. This is not a happy moment.
I want her buried with her son in the Bahamas. I want them to be together.
You know, she had to live all her years under this kind of exposure. I just get a week and a half of it and it's already flattened me down.
She's going to be with her son. She's going to have her son next to her.
I want to just make one comment. I appreciate the help I received from all of the lawyers. I appreciate your help. I appreciate the direction you gave me. And I appreciate the respect you showed the court and the state of Florida.
I have no longer any jurisdiction. It's in Millstein's hands. He's charged -- and Dr. Perper's going to help. Dr. Perper said he would fly to him to the Bahamas. And the Sheriff's Department's indicated they're going to help and they're going to work out the logistics and the details with mother -- with mother and the two gentlemen here.
And I hope to God you guys give the kid the right shot.
I sign this order effective almost 4:00. It's a long order. It's a long order.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have made an agreement on the record the other day about the DNA samples being retained. Until there is a disposition with regard to that matter, we would like an order signed to that effect so that the samples don't go with the body.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have no objection. The body maintained by the Broward County medical examiner until further order of the appropriate...
SEIDLIN: And I want it to be clear I've completed all my tasks in this case. I've prepared to handle any other tasks. But I've completed all of my tasks and...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
SEIDLIN: Godspeed to everyone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May I ask for one more favor? SEIDLIN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've completed your task, given the major one. May I ask that we could continued to use this courtroom and chambers...
SEIDLIN: Absolutely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So that we meet with the parties today?
SEIDLIN: You know, I never felt those chambers...
I always felt those chambers belonged to the public and the attorneys. Whenever they came in, they were able to use them. And I think during the years, it demonstrated that. You know, I felt it was like my living room. But you share it. It's my home and you come in and participate in it. Therefore, this courtroom is yours. My chambers are yours. Anything you need to make this work is yours.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would ask the courtroom be cleared soon and that the parties remain to talk, please.
SEIDLIN: Yes. In other words, you want to remain here and close everyone out?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We agree. We agree.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A sealed courtroom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Me being included?
SEIDLIN: You're going to stay.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we're going to have a discussion, we need me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's today's date?
(CROSSTALK)
SEIDLIN: I direct the Sheriff's Department to have to (INAUDIBLE) -- you've always been great for me -- to empty out the room.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this time, I ask that all...
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: I don't know about you, but I've been getting a flurry of e-mails from "This is a sad experience" to "A freak show". I mean, I've never seen anything like it before. But he made a decision. He finally gave some legalese to what's been a pretty a dramatic case.
LEMON: Yes, so we're hearing that the guardian of Anna Nicole Smith's infant daughter Dannielynn will get custody of the mamma's body to bury her. That's according to that judge. And I think the person's name is Michael Millstein, esquire, who's the guardian for the model's infant daughter. She's going to get custody.
PHILLIPS: And the judge's last word, "I want her to be buried with her son in the Bahamas." The mom, not real happy about that. She wanted the body to come back to Texas to be where she had grown up.
Needless to say, it's been quite an interesting case to be followed.
LEMON: Yes, it is. And I'm pretty sure they're going to be following at least the verdict part, the courtroom proceedings on the "SITUATION ROOM".
So for now we're going to throw it over to Wolf Blitzer in the "SITUATION ROOM" -- Wolf.
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