PROP. 36 HELPS ACTOR DOWNEY AVOID PRISON IN COCAINE CASE

He Pleads No Contest, Gets Probation And Drug Rehab

INDIO -- Actor Robert Downey Jr. became the first high-profile beneficiary
of Proposition 36 on Monday, avoiding prison by pleading no contest to drug
charges stemming from his November arrest at a Palm Springs resort.

Had he entered his plea just a month ago, Downey almost certainly would
have landed behind bars, prosecutors said. Instead, he will be sent back to
rehabilitation under a ballot measure approved by voters last fall that
mandates treatment, not prison, for many drug offenders.

"With the new law, my hands are tied," said Riverside County Deputy
District Attorney Tammy Capone. "It's what the voters wanted, and since I
represent them, basically, I have to go along with that.

"But I am concerned about the consequences of that and whether it will work."

Ending a drawn-out dance between prosecutors and his attorneys, Downey, 36,
appeared in an Indio courtroom to plead no contest to possession of
cocaine, a felony, and being under the influence of a controlled substance,
a misdemeanor.

Downey was placed on three years' probation. He will serve the first year
or so at Wavelinks International, a live-in drug rehabilitation facility in
Malibu. Downey also will be subject to random drug tests like those he has
passed in recent weeks, and will pay fines to be set later of $5,000 to
$6,000, Capone said.

If he fails to uphold the terms of the agreement, he could face four years
in prison.

"This is going to be hard work," Riverside County Superior Court Judge
Randall White said. "If you choose not to work at it, if you choose to
allow yourself to fail in this program, then the consequences will be
severe to you and possibly to the public as well."

"Thank you for your consideration, your honor," Downey replied.

The actor's successful career, which has featured an Oscar nomination and
an acclaimed stint on the television series "Ally McBeal," has repeatedly
stumbled into legal problems.

He was arrested in 1996 and charged with drug possession, driving under the
influence and carrying a concealed weapon. He pleaded no contest and was
placed on probation. He violated the terms of his probation twice, and in
1999 he was sent to Corcoran State Prison for a year.

He was released in August -- and three months later was arrested at Merv
Griffin's Resort Hotel and Givenchy Spa after an anonymous caller led
police to his hotel room, where investigators said they found cocaine and
methamphetamine.

While out on bail in April, Downey was arrested again in a Culver City
alley. That time, Downey had traces of cocaine in his system, and though
Los Angeles County prosecutors declined to press ahead with a criminal
case, the incident cost him his "Ally McBeal" role.

Despite the extensive record of failure, "Rehab will work if he wants it to
work," Capone said.

He does, said Downey's West Los Angeles defense attorney, James Epstein,
after Monday's hearing.

"His motivation is extremely high right now," Epstein said.

Downey's case is not a sign that Proposition 36 is too broad, Epstein said,
but a sign that it is overdue.

"Addicts are not criminals," Epstein said. "This is an illness, not a
crime. And he's very appreciative for the new outlook by the voters of
California and the district attorney's office."