HOUSTON (AP) — Despite a court ruling throwing out Andrea Yates' murder conviction, lawyers for the mother accused of drowning her five children say she is not likely to see freedom soon.

Defense attorney George Parnham said he had no plans to seek Yates' release from the Skyview Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, where she works in the flower garden and has janitorial duties.

"We are not going to seek her immediate release from where she is," Parnham said Thursday. "A verdict of this magnitude does not mean that Andrea goes free."

It was at Skyview, in the warden's office Thursday morning, that Yates, 40, was told the Texas First Court of Appeals determined false testimony from forensic psychiatrist Park Dietz led to her improper conviction of drowning three of her children.

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Parnham, who spoke with Yates by telephone, described her as "surprised and not unpleased."

"She has lots and lots of questions about what the future holds," Parnham said. "I told her, in so many words, that we weren't able to necessarily answer those questions because many of the decisions relative to what happens to Andrea have yet to be made by the district attorney's office."

Prosecutors said they would seek a rehearing before the appeals court and, if necessary, move the case up the appellate ladder. Prosecutors could also pursue the deaths of her two other children.

"We're disappointed but not shocked," said Joe Owmby, the Harris County assistant district attorney who prosecuted Yates. "We will proceed from here."

Even if she's eventually found innocent by reason of insanity, Troy McKinney, who argued Yates' case before the appeals court, said she would remain under care and under court jurisdiction.

"This is not a get-out-of-jail-free card by any stretch of the imagination," he said.

A three-judge panel of the appellate court said Dietz, who is also a consultant for the television program "Law & Order," was wrong in testimony describing an episode of the show about a woman found innocent by reason of insanity for drowning her children.

While absolving them of wrongdoing, the judges said prosecutors "connected the dots" with that false testimony to convince jurors that Yates, who watched the TV series, patterned her actions after the episode.

What jurors and lawyers didn't know until after jurors returned their conviction on capital murder charges was that there was no "Law & Order" show with such a plot.

"We conclude that there is a reasonable likelihood that Dr. Dietz's false testimony could have affected the judgment of the jury," the court said. "We further conclude that Dr. Dietz's false testimony affected the substantial rights of appellant."

Dietz, according to the court ruling, acknowledged his mistake to lawyers before jurors moved on to sentencing. Defense lawyers at the time sought a mistrial, but the trial judge refused.

Testimony at her trial showed Yates was overwhelmed by motherhood, considered herself a bad mother, had attempted suicide and been hospitalized for depression.

Five mental health experts testified she did not know right from wrong or that she thought drowning her children was right. Dietz, the only mental health expert to testify for the prosecution, was the lone mental health expert who testified she knew right from wrong.

"His testimony was critical to establish the state's case," Judge Sam Nuchia wrote. "Although the record does not show that Dr. Dietz intentionally lied in his testimony, his false testimony undoubtedly gave greater weight to his opinion."

A receptionist at Dietz's Newport Beach, Calif., office said Thursday that neither Dietz nor his firm had an immediate comment on the ruling.

Yates' husband, Russell Yates, said in an interview on CNN's Larry King Live, "I'm happy, happy for Andrea."

"I think she needs to be in a state mental hospital until she's well," he said. "Had she not been mentally ill, she never would've done what she did."

Russell Yates, who has filed for divorce, said he had not spoken with his wife since the verdict was overturned. He talked to her Saturday and cannot do so again until February.