Pubdate: Thu, 28 Dec 2000
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2000 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053
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Author: Deborah Sullivan Brennan, Special To The Times
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?170 (Downey, Robert Jr)

DOWNEY PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO DRUG COUNTS

Courts: Lawyer Says He Doesn't Anticipate A Plea Bargain. He Calls The
Actor 'Upbeat' And 'Extremely Optimistic.'

INDIO--A month after his arrest for alleged drug use and possession at
a Palm Springs resort, actor Robert Downey Jr. pleaded not guilty to
three drug counts Wednesday in a low-key appearance at a media-packed
desert courtroom.

The actor, dressed in black, entered his plea before Riverside County
Superior Court Judge B.J. Bjork. After the brief morning hearing, he
made his way calmly out of the courthouse escorted by sheriff's
deputies through a throng of news reporters, photographers and
cameramen. He made no comment on the case.

"Mr. Downey remains upbeat. He is extremely optimistic," said Santa
Monica attorney Daniel Brookman, one of three lawyers representing the
actor. "He is looking forward to moving on with his personal life as
well as his legal issues."

Downey was arrested Nov. 25 at Merv Griffin's Resort Hotel and
Givenchy Spa after an anonymous caller tipped police that the actor
was locked in his room with illegal drugs and firearms.

Police searched the room and discovered no weapons but found a pill
bottle filled with substances they identified as cocaine and
methamphetamine. Downey was charged with two felony counts of
possession of cocaine and the tranquilizer diazepam, and one
misdemeanor count of being under the influence of a controlled substance.

Downey, an Oscar-nominated actor most recently featured in episodes of
the television series "Ally McBeal," has had a successful screen
career repeatedly interrupted over the last four years by bouts with
the law.

He was arrested on suspicion of drug possession, driving under the
influence and carrying a concealed handgun in 1996, and later pleaded
no contest to those charges. Downey was placed on probation and served
time in jail and a series of rehabilitation programs in the ensuing
years.

After his second probation violation in 1999, however, a Malibu judge
sent him to Corcoran State Prison for a year. He was released in
August, just three months before his Palm Springs arrest.

Downey is scheduled to appear again in the Indio courtroom Jan. 29 for
a hearing at which the district attorney--taking into account the
charges, evidence and Downey's criminal history--will discuss ways to
resolve the case with the defense counsel, said Deputy Dist. Atty.
Tricia Kelly.

Kelly said Downey could face up to four years and eight months in
prison if found guilty of the recent charges. However, he may be
eligible for an intensive yearlong outpatient drug program offered
through the court, if the actor and his attorneys choose to pursue
that option, she said.

Brookman said that the defense team is waiting to receive additional
evidence in the case but that he does not anticipate a plea bargain.

"We have not discussed any other alternative, other than to pursue all
available legal defenses," he said.

Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos said Downey's
defense could push to have the case dismissed, arguing that the search
of his hotel room was illegal. California case law has determined that
an anonymous tip may not justify a search without other cause for
suspicion, he said.

The success of such an argument could depend on details of the
anonymous call, whether Downey permitted the search and whether
prosecutors can show that police conducted it under urgent
circumstances.

"I think there's a significant legal issue as to whether it was a
proper search and arrest, and it's entirely possible that this case
gets dismissed," Geragos said.

As broadcast vans circled the courthouse and journalists hovered
around the pale Downey, his attorneys remarked on whether the
publicity itself might harm their client's attempts to remain sober.

"I don't think the media necessarily helps a person in this
situation," Brookman said.

James Stillwell, executive director of Impact, a Pasadena-based
rehabilitation center through which Downey received treatment in 1999,
said life in the limelight might complicate recovery from drug addiction.

Thicker wallets may give celebrities easier access to drugs, he said.
And their ability to hire top attorneys can obscure the legal
consequences of drug abuse, allowing stars to remain cavalier about
getting caught.

Still, he said, those advantages won't shield Downey from the ultimate
results of his alleged relapse.

"There always comes a time when all the money and all the resources
don't factor in," he said. "And ultimately, everybody--celebrities and
everybody else--will be faced with the same three consequences of
repeated drug abuse. That is: jail, institutions or death. The disease
does not respect celebrity or wealth or geography."
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