But the pre-argument scuffle outside the court building, in which several photographers were knocked down in their eagerness to get a picture of Anna Nicole Smith, was probably not ignited by any burning interest in the proper role of federal courts in state probate proceedings.
Ms. Smith was dressed in black and appeared somber as lawyers argued over what should become of the estate of her husband, J. Howard Marshall II, who died in 1995 at age 90.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said "a substantial amount of assets" was at stake, a safe enough observation given that Mr. Marshall's estate has been estimated as high as $1.6 billion. And Justice Stephen G. Breyer seemed on equally safe ground when he remarked that the case made up "quite a story."
Mr. Marshall was 89 and Ms. Smith 26 when they married in 1994 after a two-year courtship. It was his third marriage and her second. Court records say Mr. Marshall encouraged his mate's career before and during their marriage and paid for her acting lessons. Ms. Smith was Playboy's Playmate of the Year in 1992 and modeled for jeans commercials and advertisements.
Mr. Marshall died 14 months after the wedding, setting the stage for a battle between his widow and his son E. Pierce Marshall, who, according to court papers, had feared that his father would be as generous to his young wife as he was to a longtime mistress who had died in 1990.
The elder Mr. Marshall was generous, showering his wife with clothes and jewelry. She has also maintained that he repeatedly promised her half his estate as an inducement to marry him.
In 1982, Mr. Marshall had established his "estate plan," consisting of a will and a living trust. Lawyers for his son have insisted that Ms. Smith got all she was entitled to while her husband was alive. A Texas state probate court sided with the son.
Ms. Smith, who is also known as Vickie Lynn Marshall, sued in a federal bankruptcy court in California, setting up a showdown over jurisdiction. She accused her husband's son of scheming to deny her an inheritance. That court agreed with her, awarding her $475 million and declaring that E. Pierce Marshall had "adopted a scorched-earth approach" to the case.
E. Pierce Marshall gave no hint of softening his stance after the Supreme Court arguments, telling reporters his side still has issues that "will be pursued vigorously," no matter what the Supreme Court does.
One question that may go unanswered is how J. Howard Marshall II left his affairs in such apparent confusion. He was not just an oilman. He was a lawyer — a professor of trusts and estates at Yale Law School.
The case is Marshall v. Marshall, 04-1544.