Actor Robert Downey Jr. released from jail

Actor Robert Downey Jr. is seen in Malibu, California, Municipal Court in this 1999 file photo

From staff and wire reports

LOS ANGELES -- Oscar-nominated actor Robert Downey, Jr. was released Wednesday by a California state appeals court, his spokesman said.

Spokesman Alan Nierob said the court had granted an appeal by Downey, who had argued through his lawyers that a Los Angeles Superior Court judge had miscalculated his sentence.

"It's a good day for him if he's out of jail," Nierob said.

A spokesman for the California State Prison in Corcoran said Downey was released Wednesday afternoon, just hours after the 2nd District Court of Appeals ruled that Superior Court Judge Lawrence Mira had erred in sentencing him.

Attorneys Robert Waters and Russ Nabatoff appeared before a three-judge panel in Los Angeles last week, saying the actor deserved an early release based on time served. They argued that Mira should have given him credit for 53 days he had previously served in a locked drug rehabilitation program.

Downey, 35, is serving a three-year sentence in California state prison for violating probation on a 1996 drug conviction. At the time, the actor pleaded no contest to the charges of illegally possessing cocaine, heroin and a gun found in a car he was speeding in.

Downey was nominated for an Academy Award for his title role in 1992's "Chaplin."

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Robert Downey Jr Links and Pictures
Internet Movie Database: Robert Downey Jr.
Los Angeles Superior Court
Erowid Heroin Vault
NIDA Research Report - Heroin Abuse and Addiction

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