DNA Test Ordered for Dannielynn

Tue., Mar. 20, 2007 4:00 PM PDT by Natalie Finn

Now Larry Birkhead really has a reason to smile.

On Tuesday, a Bahamian judge ordered a DNA test for Anna Nicole Smith's six-month-old daughter, Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern, with the intent of finally, at last, for real—really now—determining who the girl's father is.

That's the idea, anyway.

Birkhead, who filed a paternity suit in October in Los Angeles and has been playing court tag ever since, reportedly gave a double fist pump and was jumping up and down as he left the hearing, which was closed to the public and press.

"It's been a good day in court for me," Birkhead told reporters outside the courthouse, amid cheers from the spectators who had gathered to get dibs on what they obviously considered to be the good news.

Smith's photographer ex-boyfriend had looked pretty confident on Friday, as well, telling reporters that he was in "a happy mood" and implying that things would probably go his way Tuesday.

An attorney for Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, confirmed that the test had been ordered but refused to discuss the nitty-gritty of what went on in the courtroom. Arthur has also thrown her hat into the ring as far as custody goes, saying that she can provide a more stable home than Smith's lawyer-turned-lover Howard K. Stern.

Stern was also in court Tuesday, a short trip for him considering he's been taking care of Dannielynn in the Bahamas since her mother's sudden death Feb. 8 in Hollywood, Florida. A local court has also forbidden Stern from leaving the country with Dannielynn in tow until a custody ruling is made.

Stern is listed as the baby's father on her birth certificate, a move that prompted Birkhead to take his case to the Bahamas last year to file a lawsuit accusing Smith and Stern of fraud and conspiracy—which mainly resulted in an increase in paper-shuffling for the sparring parties' attorneys.

Birkhead parted ways with attorney Debra Opri last week, with the sound-bite-ready lawyer explaining that her ex-client's increasing amount of contact with Stern was what put the fork in their partnership after months of battling in the paternity trenches together.

Dannielynn stands to inherit millions if a court ever finally decides in Smith's favor regarding her would-be inheritance from her late husband, oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II. When she passed away, Smith had been battling Marshall's family for what she considered to be her rightful portion of his $500 million estate for more than a decade.

Earlier Tuesday, the judge who has been presiding over the West Coast leg of the baby-daddy saga postponed a hearing on whether Stern should be included in Birkhead's paternity case until May 14.

Stern's attorney, James Neavitt, told reporters that L.A. Superior Court Judge Robert Schnider delayed his ruling because a decision such as the one made Tuesday by Bahamian Justice Stephen Isaacs would render it moot.

"We're just waiting to see what happens today in the Bahamas," Neavitt said. "These proceedings here may all just go away."

After the later hearing, Neavitt told People: "We will do whatever the court wants and [Stern] will comply with any orders," adding that his client is "concerned about getting things over with and behind him."

Ironically, a hearing on Opri's motion to withdraw as Birkhead's attorney was also delayed until Apr. 23, leaving her in the thick of things for the time being, at least in Los Angeles.