Anna Nicole Smith's doctor avoids jail at the end of eight-year legal battle

The Los Angeles psychiatrist who befriended and treated tragic actress/model Anna Nicole Smith has avoided jail eight years after her most famous client's death.

Judge Robert J. Perry rejected calls from prosecutors to put Khristine Eroshevich behind bars on Friday (17Apr15) and reduced the disgraced doctor's conviction to misdemeanor conspiracy.

The ruling ends an eight-year battle to convict the psychiatrist, during which prosecutors attempted to prove she and Smith's manager and companion Howard K. Stern broke the law when they used fake names to acquire powerful painkillers and sedatives for the troubled actress.

Judge Perry said Eroshevich had no criminal record and that there was no malice in her actions, which prosecutors claim contributed to Smith's death.

Stern was previously cleared of all charges in 2011, but they were reinstated by an appellate panel in 2012. He is expected to appear in court in June (15), according to the Los Angeles Times.