Oft-troubled, court-prone actor Robert Downey Jr. was back in a Malibu, Calif., court Tuesday for a hearing, where he was placed on parole for a previous drug conviction dating back to 1996, Reuters reports.
The 30-minute hearing has nothing whatsoever to do with the 35-year-old actor’s recent Palm Springs, Calif., arrest, but rather it served to tie up loose ends related to Downey‘s drug bust in 1996, which ultimately led to his incarceration in a California prison in August 1999.
Downey was said to be silent during the proceeding and did not offer any comment afterward.
The “Ally McBeal” actor is currently free on $15,000 bail for his drug arrest at a Palm Spring hotel on Nov. 25. He is due back in court on Dec. 27 in Indio, Calif., where he faces two felony charges and a misdemeanor charge of being under the influence of a controlled substance.
Downey is expected to plead not guilty to the charges. If convicted, he could face up to four years and eight months in state prison.
