Pubdate: Tue, 17 Jul 2001
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2001 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Chelsea J. Carter, Associated Press Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?170 (Downey, Robert Jr)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prop36.htm (Substance Abuse and Crime 
Prevention Act)

ROBERT DOWNEY JR. AVOIDS PRISON

INDIO, Calif. -- Robert Downey Jr., who faced a possible prison sentence on 
drug charges, was ordered to undergo rehabilitation under a new state law 
that stresses treatment over punishment for substance abusers.

Downey was sentenced Monday to a year in a live-in rehabilitation program 
and three years of probation after pleading no contest to cocaine 
possession and being under the influence. A third charge was dropped.

The actor also was ordered to comply with a set of regulations including 
random drug testing and random searches.

Downey, nominated for an Oscar for the film "Chaplin" and for an Emmy last 
week for "Ally McBeal," was arrested at Merv Griffin's Resort Hotel and 
Givenchy Spa in Palm Springs in November. Authorities allegedly found the 
drugs in his hotel room.

The judge warned Downey he could go to prison for up to four years if he 
violated the terms.

Proposition 36, which California voters approved last year and which took 
effect July 1, removes the threat of prison for nonviolent drug users 
convicted of use or possession for the first or second time. Drug 
convictions handed down before the law took effect do not count.

Downey's legal troubles date back to 1996, when authorities found cocaine, 
heroin and a pistol in his vehicle. A month later he was found passed out 
in a neighbor's home and was hospitalized at a substance-abuse treatment 
center. Three days later, he was arrested for leaving the center.

In August 1999, Downey was sentenced to three years in prison for violating 
his probation by missing scheduled drug tests. He was released a year later 
on $5,000 bail.

Downey checked into a Malibu drug rehabilitation center after he was 
arrested again in April and tests showed he had traces of cocaine in his 
system. The arrest in Culver City, Calif., cost him his "Ally McBeal" role, 
but no charges will be filed.

"He wants to get through this illness," his lawyer, Ross Nabatoff, said on 
CNN's "Larry King Live." "He thinks he can, I think he can and all of his 
friends think he can."
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MAP posted-by: Beth