Anna Nicole Smith News Blog @newzblogz.com

Broward Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin -- famous for his emotional outbursts during the Anna Nicole Smith case -- could face a criminal investigation for accepting gifts from an elderly neighbor and demanding gifts from a special public defender he appointed to many cases.

The state attorney's office on Thursday asked Gov. Charlie Crist to appoint an outside agency to investigate Seidlin. The request was prompted by a complaint by Miami-Dade lawyer John B. Thompson about allegations first reported Wednesday in the Broward/Palm Beach New Times.

The article described gifts that Seidlin accepted from Barbara Kasler, 81, who lives in Seidlin's Fort Lauderdale condominium building. Among them: $35,000 for Seidlin's 6-year-old daughter's tuition at The Pine Crest School, a condo sold to him at below market value, and property in Palm Bay deeded to Seidlin's wife for $100.

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MIAMI (AP) - Larry Seidlin, the wisecracking judge who presided in the dispute over Anna Nicole Smith's remains and was lampooned for his sobbing announcement of the verdict, will resign next month, a court spokesman said Tuesday.

The circuit judge's letter to Gov. Charlie Crist says, "it is now time for me to devote more of my daily life to my own young family and to pursue the many opportunities that have been offered to me outside the judicial system and I have disregarded until now."

Seidlin gave no specifics on his plans after his July 31 resignation, though rumors have swirled for months that he was considering a deal for a television court show.

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Now that the nasty verbal volleys have stopped, Geauga County and Chardon city officials can

talk about ideas for county space problems in the city.

It won't be easy, since Geauga County owns land in Claridon Township, and city leaders have determined they offer few land options for a city project.

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We have a few rights left in this country, one of which is the right to change our minds. I keep hearing rumors about so many Republicans who are softening their stand on the war. Can they not feel free to declare a change of mind? Why are they not being as vehement against it as they were for it from the start?

Is it ego that gets in the way of such a declaration? If one no longer feels right or justified in spending our treasury into immense debt and leading our males to the slaughter, is it dishonorable to get out of Dodge immediately?

I have been giving a lot of thought to the Muslims who like their women wrapped up in black. I can understand their outlook after searching the TV channels at 6 p.m. for something other than suggestive photos of a spoiled rich brat with stringy blonde hair, belly aching about a jail cell, leaning on parents who should be giving her the spanking she deserved years ago.

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