Pubdate: Sun, 27 Oct 2002
Source: Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel (FL)
Copyright: 2002 Sun-Sentinel Company
Contact:  http://www.mapinc.org/media/159
Note: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Author: Mike Schneider of The Associated Press

NOELLE BUSH RELEASED FROM JAIL AFTER 10 DAYS

ORLANDO   Gov. Jeb Bush's daughter was released from jail early Saturday, 
10 days after a judge ordered her locked up for violating terms of her 
court-ordered drug treatment program.

Noelle Bush, 25, left the Orange County jail around 4 a.m., said Allen 
Moore, spokesman for the county corrections department. She got into a 
sport utility vehicle that was parked in a garage on the side of the jail, 
away from photojournalists, instead of departing through the center's 
entrance as most inmates do.

She returned to the Center for Drug-Free Living in Orlando, said her 
brother, George P. Bush, a law student in Texas.

"It hurts, but all we can do is love her, support her and be there for 
her," said Bush, who was in Orlando campaigning for his father's re- election.

Bush, 26, said he hadn't spoken to or visited his sister on Saturday.

Noelle Bush, President George Bush's niece, had been ordered to attend drug 
treatment after she was arrested in January for allegedly trying to use a 
fraudulent prescription to buy the anti-anxiety drug Xanax at a Tallahassee 
pharmacy. Under the diversion program, the charges could be dropped if she 
completes treatment.

Judge Reginald Whitehead has since sent her to jail twice for violating 
terms of that agreement.

In July, she was jailed for three days after a treatment worker caught her 
with prescription pills. The 10-day stint that ended Saturday followed 
allegations that she was found with crack cocaine in her shoe at the center.

Noelle Bush's next appearance before Whitehead is Nov. 8, three days after 
voters decide whether to re-elect her father, when she will give the judge 
an update on her progress. Her attorneys had fought unsuccessfully to keep 
her appearances before the judge closed to the public.

George P. Bush said his family has discussed the possibility that Noelle 
Bush could be returned to the regular criminal justice system and end up in 
jail for a longer time if she doesn't succeed in the drug treatment program.

"Certainly there is concern. Sitting together with family members and our 
family attorney, we have discussed these possible ramifications for the 
future," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager