Virgie Arthur's "Texas" Lawyer Has Checkered Past

John O'QuinnJohn O'Quinn, the larger-than-life, big-mouthed attorney representing Anna Nicole Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, has some legal skeletons in his closet that don't jibe with the law-and-order image he tried to portray during the Judge Larry portion of the Anna Nicole legal proceedings, where O'Quinn memorably fainted.

TMZ did some digging, and it turns out that O'Quinn was punished back in 1994 for practicing law without a license in South Carolina, where he was disciplined for his methods in signing-up clients after a USAir jetliner crash. And then, in 1998, O'Quinn went through disbarment proceedings with the Texas state bar, which accused him of funneling more than $100,000 to two men who helped him recruit non-attorneys to solicit families of crash victims.

O'Quinn did plead guilty to the charges in South Carolina and ended up paying a $300,000 fine. In Texas, he was let off without punishment.



Reader Comments

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76. John O'Quinn should be sued. That big mouthed freaking a**h*** thinks he can go around accusing people of crimes they didn't committ. No one has clean hands in this case....so deal with it you Stern haters.

Posted at 8:48AM on Mar 31st 2007 by swishyshelley

77. He is a SLIME BALL just like Virgie Arthur All they want is MONEY they dont give a damm about the darling child..............

Posted at 9:26AM on Mar 31st 2007 by suan

78. 5060. 5044. Virgie raised Daniel from birth to age 7. Virgie stepped up to raise her grandson, even though she was a working mother, just because her daughter was unwilling to make the sacrifices to raise her own child. Anna wanted to be a stripper, and to pose for Playboy. I bet Daniel rather have a mother who worked at WalMart and came home to him each night to read him a bedtime story. Days passed, months passed, and years passed. Anna remembered that she had a son when it would benefit her relationship with Marshall, and he would give her more money because of the son. So she claimed her son, and stole him from the "only mother he ever knew" (Virgie). Virgie let Daniel go, because she knew how sad Daniel was to be abandoned by his whore mother. Daniel lived with low self esteem wondering why he wasn't enough for his mother. Daniel died wondering that as well, why did she love drugs more than him? Why did she love having sex with men and women more than she loved Daniel? Why did she love the media more than Daniel? Anna kicked Daniel out of her life before he died. Daniel was shocked that she was allowing him to visit her and the baby after the baby's birth--after many of his calls were hung up on. Anna let Daniel down at his birth, throughout his life, and even after his death, she let him down by refusing to search out the truth. All she cared about was her own freaking pain, and never fought to help Daniel's pain. Did she ever see the pain in Daniel's eyes when he was embarassed by her? Anna is the sorriest excuse for a mother. Poor Daniel, he deserved better. And now Anna's drug dealer is preventing the truth about Daniel from being investigated? WHY? Will someone please put Daniel first for once?

Posted at 8:16AM on Mar 31st 2007 by McGee

What are you saying? Anna Nicole Smith was not Mother of the Century? All I keep hearing from the media about their "special relationship". I thought they had the mother/son bond we should all model ourselves after! Damn.

Posted at 8:38AM on Mar 31st 2007 by Shocked

Copied this from another article. I am so sick every time I hear "What Anna wanted". If Virige didn't become the "psychological mother" of Daniel after 7 years of raising him; Howard should not count on being considered the psychological dad after a mere 6 months. DO THE RIGHT THING FOR THE BABY!!!!!!! The TRUTH will set you free.

Posted at 8:54AM on Mar 31st 2007 by Pete

79. Ok, TMZ....start digging up some trash on Howard K. Stern's lawyers. I would venture to guess that no lawyer has a squeaky clean past.

Posted at 8:54AM on Mar 31st 2007 by lawyers suck

80.
#41 You said it well !... Another thing, The "Texas Lawyer" is liken to Robin Hood!
Jolly Good Chap, Who takes from the RICH and gives to the POOR, A Fact!
It is written; "You Judge a Tree by the Fruit it bears" ! And to #4 ella ; Your
mouth should be washed with soap!----As for multiple marriages ie. Virgie !
Think Elizabeth Taylor, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Frank Sinatra, Donald Trump! Don't
think you can say they are "White Trailer Trash" ! Or is your problem, Pot can't
call the Kettle Black?....Ask someone to explain all this to your. Cheerio!

Posted at 8:58AM on Mar 31st 2007 by Whipoorwill----WVa

81. #82. I often wondered myself. ANS said her mother whipped her, beat her, blah blah...then why on gods green earth would you leave your own child with her for 7 years?

Posted at 8:59AM on Mar 31st 2007 by Jlynn

82. Sorry post was for #81.

Posted at 9:02AM on Mar 31st 2007 by Jlynn

83. This would be one lawyer that I would want if I was ever in trouble. He has so much money that it is not that important to him. He was a poor boy that lived with his grandmother and worked hard to get his education. That's the reason he tries to help the average person and a lot times without pay. I dare say that only a few of you are so rich that you are not on the same level as most of people that live in America. Refresh, there is the poor, middleclass, the rich and the very rich class of people in Amercia. You may have the opportunity of needing such a lawyer one day, after all no one is above the law and it could happen to you and the need to prove your innocence might depend on a lawyer such as this one.

Posted at 9:01AM on Mar 31st 2007 by Grandmother from Texas

84. And sanchez, barf, rale, et al are pure as snow? No "digging" there?

How about Cyril Wecht, you know, the guy who was paid by howie with anna's money to do a second autopsy on Daniel? The guy who blows a gasket everytime he's on tv lately.

What happened to TMZ?

Posted at 9:02AM on Mar 31st 2007 by pj

85. i do not care what O'quinn did , what howard did is worse. did o'quinn enable and kidnapp a baby ? did he carry a purse and dog around for 11 years ? did he live off other people ? no he was working which is something howard does not know how to do !!! maybe if anna had o'quinn the marshalls would have gave a settlement ! stern lovers the truth already came out , that is why your howie is hiding behind appeals . howie is scum and will never come out of this with a good name ,his pr people can do what they want he is scum in everyone eyes !!

Posted at 9:12AM on Mar 31st 2007 by BOYCOTT THE BAHAMAS

86. I live in SC and was well acquainted with O'Quinn's shady dealings long before this ANS story came up. He was fined several hundred thousand for unscrupulous actions in SC, like buying witnesses, but being from the good ol boy network, didn't get any jail time. In fact, I wrote a post to this site once before telling about how O'Quinn runs his business. All I got for going to the trouble to inform y'all about him was to be called a bunch of bad names. Naturally he has won all those cases since he has no scruples and will do anything at all to win his case and that includes lie and buy witnesses. Where do you think this PI came from with all his different stories? O"Quinn paying him of course. And in this ANS fiasco, he has his eyes on the baby's possible Marshall inheritance. He wouldn't be giving Virgie Arthur or ANS or that baby a second glance if he didn't see a way to get to the Marshall money through Dannielynn. In fact, it's well known around here how he makes fun of the "trailer trash" part of the population. He doesn't take on a case unless there are BIG bucks involved and he takes it on consignment so he can get most of the settlement if there is one. In those tobacco cases that he took, his law firm got 90% of the money and the plaintiffs got the other 10% Of course,10% of millions is still a lot, but he got most of it. He might be a billionaire, but he won't be the first one who got his forturne through shady and illegal dealings and his money doesn't make him a good person.

Posted at 9:15AM on Mar 31st 2007 by smitty

87. 66. ::yawn::

What is this, proof that HK$$$ and his cronies have paid off TMZ to report on irrelevant minutiae in an attempt to distract from the shady dealings of HK$$$??

Boring.

Posted at 8:12AM on Mar 31st 2007 by canuck
---------------------------------------------------------------------

You said what I've been thinking ever since the sanchez/barf press conference and their "stern" warning to the media. Mr. Levin goes out of his way lately to smooch up to howie. On one of the recent shows, he said that no "credible" person would think howie committed a crime. He insulted the MAJORITY of the population by calling them not "credible" for thinking howie is guilty of some wrongdoing.

Posted at 9:10AM on Mar 31st 2007 by pj

88. Gee, a lawyer who has has some shady dealings in the past, present or future...what a shock!

Posted at 9:17AM on Mar 31st 2007 by Jule

89. AND JUST FOR INFO, I HAVE A FRIEND TAKING METHADONE, BUT SHE HAS CANCER IN HER BONES!!! I CANNOT IMAGINE WHY ANNA OR HOWARD WOULD HAVE IT.

Posted at 9:07AM on Mar 31st 2007 by Marie

I think that they had/have cancer of the soul.

Posted at 2:46PM on Mar 31st 2007 by Bud

90. Thanks TMZ.... Enjoy the whole 9 yards! The Posting, Reporting, Opinions, Pictures,
Most Entertaining and Informative----Loved the "One" about Texas Lawyer O'Quinn,
Having "Checkered Past"! Him being Chastised by Other Lawyers in SC. And Using
Non-Lawyers to collect grevances and other paliminary information I assume? But
I am reminded of this;---- "Woe be unto the Man, That everyone speaks Well of"!

The Mud slinging, Dirt smearing will come out in the Wash. Good will Win !!!!

Posted at 9:16AM on Mar 31st 2007 by Whipoorwill----WVa

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