Jury submits questions in Anna Nicole Smith case

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jurors in the Anna Nicole Smith drug conspiracy case have sent out two questions indicating they’re struggling to reach verdicts on some charges against the former Playboy model’s two doctors and boyfriend.

The questions submitted Wednesday in Los Angeles involve what the jury should do if unable to reach a verdict on “a count or an object crime.”

The jury also asked whether it would be correct to conclude that Smith’s drugs had no legitimate purpose if jurors find the prescriptions were written in excessive amounts.

The judge summoned lawyers to court to decide how to answer.

Howard K. Stern and Drs. Sandeep Kapoor and Khristine Eroshevich are charged with conspiring to give Smith excessive sedatives and opiates. The defense has claimed all drugs were for medical purposes.