Los Angeles Criminal Defense Lawyers
Sorkin's Fresh Start
E! Online
The drug charges against West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin were dropped today. And he didn't have to use his Washington connections to catch a break.
A court commissioner in Burbank, California, wiped the slate clean today after the Emmy-winning producer got a gold star for good behavior from the Los Angeles County Probation Department.
The recovering addict was a no-show at the hearing. Sorkin was producing an episode of the political drama at a studio in Burbank said his attorney.
"He feels he can walk straighter because he has proven to himself, let alone the rest of the world, that all this stuff is behind him," says attorney Steve Sitkoff. (Sitkoff is probably glad it's behind him, too; he tells E! Online that he's been receiving unsolicited scripts for Sorkin ever since taking on the case.)
Sorkin was arrested on felony drug possession charges in April 2001, after trying to smuggle small amounts of crack cocaine, hallucinogenic mushrooms and marijuana through a Burbank Airport security checkpoint. Sorkin pleaded guilty to the possession two months later and was freed on $10,000 bail.
The 41-year-old managed to avoid doing hard time by enrolling in a drug diversion program, which included attending classes and support meetings and submitting to regular drug tests. His case was to be dismissed upon successful completion of the two-year rehab program.
If Sorkin hadn't cleaned up his act, the producer could have found himself behind bars for up to 44 months--or three and a half prime-time seasons.
Sorkin, whose credits also include A Few Good Men and The American President, has acknowledged problems with drugs in the past, including a 1995 stint at the Hazelden Institute in Minnesota for a freebase cocaine addiction.
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