Nick Nolte DUI arraignment postponed

MALIBU, Calif., Oct. 28 (UPI) -- A judge in Malibu postponed actor Nick Nolte's arraignment Monday on misdemeanor DUI charges, stemming from Nolte's arrest on Sept. 11 while driving on Pacific Coast Highway.

Superior Court Judge Lawrence Mira rescheduled the hearing for Dec. 5 to give the defense time to have a blood sample tested.

Nolte, 61, has been charged with one count of driving under the influence and one count of being under the influence of Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate (GHB), a depressant that acts on the central nervous system. The drug is popular with bodybuilders and dance/club scene regulars.

One of several substances commonly referred to as a "date rape" drug, GHB is sometimes called "Fantasy," "Grievous Bodily Harm" or "liquid Ecstasy."

Nolte was not required to appear at the scheduled arraignment Monday, and was not in court. Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, Nolte's attorney, Mark Werksman, said his client is innocent.

"He was not under the influence of a date-rape drug," said Werksman. "Nick Nolte is not out there popping illicit or narcotic drugs."

Mira -- best known as the presiding judge in the drug and weapons case against Oscar-nominated actor Robert Downey Jr. Nolte, the spousal abuse case against rocker Tommy Lee and a spousal abuse and drug case against actor Charlie Sheen -- told Werksman that Nolte would be permitted to remain free if he meets certain conditions, including random drug tests. The judge also said Nolte must get treatment in a substance abuse program, abstain from alcohol and drugs, and refrain from driving for as long as his current California driver's license is suspended.

A spokeswoman for the district attorney's office said Nolte faces up to six months in jail if convicted of both charges. Werksman said Nolte was doing fine.

"He's back home in Malibu where he's working and looking forward to the release of several new pictures," said Werksman.

The Oscar-nominated star of "Affliction" and "The Prince of Tides" has had a longstanding reputation as a hard partier, but he changed his image a few years ago when he started working out and seemed to have his drinking under control.

Three days after he was arrested by a California Highway Patrol officer who said Nolte "seemed completely out of it," Nolte checked himself into Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Conn., on Sept. 14. Other celebrities -- including Billy Joel, Mariah Carey and Diana Ross -- have sought treatment at Silver Hill.

Nolte's other screen credits include "The Thin Red Line" (1998), "Blue Chips" (1994), "Cape Fear" (1991), "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" (1986), "48 Hrs." (1982), "North Dallas Forty" (1979), "Who'll Stop the Rain" (1978)" and "The Deep" (1977).

Nolte was nominated for an Emmy in 1976 for his star-making role as Tom Jordache in "Rich Man, Poor Man" -- ABC's 1976 miniseries based on the 1970 novel of the same name by Irwin Shaw.