California Gov Jerry Brown pardons Robert Downey Jr. for 1996 drug offenses. Movies

Robert Downey Jr. appears in a Malibu courtroom on July 25, 1996, after his third arrest in a month.

Gov. Jerry Brown pardons Robert Downey Jr. for 1990s drug offenses

Actor Robert Downey Jr., who spent time behind bars in the late 1990s on drug convictions, received a Christmas Eve pardon from Gov. Jerry Brown, effectively scrubbing his criminal record clean.


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The actor was one of 91 people to whom the governor granted clemency for past crimes, most of them minor drug offenses that are no longer felonies under California law, as well as robbery and burglary. It has become an annual Christmas Eve tradition: official proclamations for men and women who previously served time for mostly nonviolent crimes.
Downey had a long history of problems with drugs and the law, including repeated arrests in 1996. In total, the actor served two years, eight months, and in 2002 he completed his parole.

Downey, perhaps best known for his role as Iron Man in a series of Marvel films, obtained an order on Oct. 20 from a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge, finding that he has since "lived an honest and upright life, exhibited good moral character, and conducted himself as a law-abiding citizen."
On Oct. 28, Brown inducted Downey into the California Hall of Fame, alongside Charlie Brown cartoonist Charles M Schulz and country music legend Buck Owens.
The Christmas Eve pardon reads, "By completion of his sentence and good conduct in the community of his residence since his release, Robert John Downey, Jr. has paid his debt to society and earned a full and unconditional pardon."


Robert Downey Jr.'s mug shot from Nov. 25, 2000, after his arrest at the Merv Griffin Resort in Palm Springs for drug possession.

The governor’s grant does not expunge criminal records but state and federal law enforcement agencies are notified of the executive clemency. The grant typically clears obstacles that applicants have encountered qualifying for state licenses and certain jobs.
About an hour before the pardons were made public, Downey tweeted an animated image of himself and some Christmas stockings with the text, "You're only on the naughty list if you get caught... #HappyAlmostChristmas."

Pardon applicants can first have themselves declared upstanding citizens by a Superior Court judge, or may apply directly to the governor. "Pardons are not granted unless they are earned," the governor's office said in a written statement.
Last year, Brown issued 105 pardons during the holiday, but withdrew one of them after learning from the Los Angeles Times that he was granting clemency to a man recently disciplined by financial regulators.
With this batch, Brown to date has granted executive clemency to 1,087 people, including 683 since returning to office in 2011.