Abuse of Power

Image credit: Downey Jr and Kelly: Chris Haston/Reuters/Timepix

BROTHERS AT ARM'S LENGTH Downey (at l.) seems to have tested Kelley's patience; today Kelley fired the beleaguered actor

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Aaron Sorkin

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Once again, Robert Downey Jr. found himself being led away in handcuffs. This time -- just past midnight last Tuesday morning -- police spotted him lurking in a deserted alley on Washington Boulevard, a semi- industrial section of Los Angeles, and busted him on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance (possibly methamphetamine or cocaine). It was, of course, Downey's second arrest since emerging from a 12 month prison stretch last August as an allegedly changed man (or, at least, changed enough to be hired for a costarring gig on ''Ally McBeal''). Clearly, though, some things never change. And not just for Downey.

Less than three months ago, Aaron Sorkin was accepting a crystal bowl -- the Phoenix Rising Award -- in recognition of his hard fought victory over substance abuse. In front of 300 guests at the Regent Beverly Wilshire, where the Phoenix House drug prevention organization was holding a Hollywood fundraiser, the Emmy winning ''West Wing'' creator recalled how, five years earlier, he'd pulled himself from the coils of cocaine addiction.

The 39 year old executive producer choked back tears as he described how the drug could have robbed him of his first experience of fatherhood with his new baby daughter. He railed like Josiah Bartlet against insurance companies that refuse to pay for rehabilitation treatments. ''All I could think was 'They must be doing an awful lot of blow at Blue Cross / Blue Shield if they think my condition isn't serious,''' Sorkin joked about his own rejected $15,000 rehab claim. Then he got serious again. ''My point is,'' he said, ''I had $15,000. Most people don't. And those are the people who usually end up in jail.''

Usually. Earlier this month, Sorkin spent a little time inside a jail cell himself -- about three hours -- when he was arrested at the Burbank Airport, en route to Las Vegas, after security agents opened his carry on to find a bag of psychedelic mushrooms, a small stash of marijuana, and a suspicious looking pipe (currently being tested at a police lab). Given his recent high profile remarks regarding recovery (ironically, he and the show were scheduled to win an award from the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence on April 26), it is perhaps not surprising that Sorkin fainted as airport police were called in. He's out on $10,000 bail, due to be arraigned on charges of possession of a controlled substance April 30.

As it happens, April 30 will be a big day for Downey, too. He'll be spending it in a different California courtroom for his Nov. 25 arrest in Palm Springs for possession of cocaine, and he'll be back in court again May 4 for this latest arrest. In the meantime, he was released to his parole officer and, according to his publicist, ''voluntarily checked himself into an undisclosed rehabilitation facility.''