Mother's attorneys file motion to block release of remains

A judge said he doesn't think he has jurisdiction in the fight over Smith's daughter.
MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
MIAMI -- Attorneys for Anna Nicole Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, filed an emergency motion Friday asking a Broward judge not to release the model's remains.
Judge Larry Seidlin left the Broward Courthouse on Friday without any word on how he might rule in the matter, a day after deciding a court-appointed guardian for Smith's 5-month-old daughter, Dannielynn, would have final say in where Smith is buried. The guardian, Richard Milstein, has decided Smith should be buried in the Bahamas beside her son, Daniel, who died last fall at age 20.
Attorneys for Arthur, who instead want Smith buried in Texas, where Arthur lives, are seeking a reversal of Seidlin's decision from the Fourth District Court of Appeal.
The appeals court in West Palm Beach closed at 5 p.m., and Glen Rubin, the Marshal for the court, said no appeal had been filed.
"We have not received anything," Rubin said.
Earlier Friday, in Broward family court, Judge Lawrence Korda said he doesn't think he has jurisdiction in the paternity fight over Dannielynn.
Attorneys for two men claiming to be the father -- Smith's longtime attorney, Howard K. Stern, and her ex-boyfriend, Larry Birkhead -- appeared at the paternity hearing.
"I don't think that I have jurisdiction, but I'm not going to shut the door completely at this point," Korda said.
Korda is expected to make a decision next week. He said he's taking time to review the orders of California Judge Robert Schnider.
Korda must see if he has jurisdiction to enforce Schnider's orders -- one to turn over Smith's DNA to Birkhead's experts, the other to order baby Dannielynn to submit to a paternity test either here or in the Bahamas.
Korda did say the Bahamas appears to have "substantial jurisdiction" because Dannielynn was born there, lived there and has never left the islands.
"Judge Schnider's asking you to rubber stamp his order ... so Dannielynn can find her way home," said Birkhead's attorney, Debra Opri.
Court employees snapped pictures of Birkhead as he walked into the 1hearing. Stern did not attend.
No one will say where he is, but he may be back in the Bahamas, where Birkhead's attorneys have filed an emergency motion for custody of Dannielynn, even though her true father has not been determined.