NASSAU, Bahamas — An inquest into the death of Anna Nicole Smith’s 20-year-old son was put on hold yesterday pending a legal challenge filed by Howard K. Stern, the lawyer-turned-partner of the former Playboy Playmate.A judge in the Bahamian Coroner’s Court had picked a seven-member jury and was preparing to call witnesses when Stern’s lawyers persuaded him to halt the proceedings until the Supreme Court could rule on a motion to submit a questionnaire to potential jurors to gauge any bias.

Stern attorney Wayne Munroe argued it would be “reckless” to continue the inquest before the Supreme Court had ruled on the issue.

Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez had previously rejected the motion for a jury questionnaire, saying there was no provision for one in the Bahamian legal code. He also questioned its value.

“In my opinion, no matter how many questions you put to a potential juror it boils down to the integrity of the individual juror,” Gomez said. “I don’t see how you are going to find a juror anywhere in the world that has not heard about this case.”

No date has been set for a Supreme Court hearing on the issue and it was unclear when the inquest would resume, though jurors were instructed to return to court on April 11.

“I’m very disappointed with the delay tactics they are using,” Virgie Arthur, Anna Nicole Smith’s mother, told reporters as she left the court. “But I’ll be here every day. I’ll be here until the end.”

Daniel Smith died September 10 as he visited his mother three days after she gave birth in a Nassau hospital to her daughter, Dannielynn. Authorities say he died from a lethal combination of drugs, including methadone and antidepressants, but an inquest was convened to determine whether the death was accidental, suicide or perhaps even a homicide.

Anna Nicole Smith died February 8 in Florida, from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, including a powerful sleep aid that a lawyer for Stern said she took to cope with grief over her son’s death.