Nick Nolte arraignment postponed again

MALIBU, Calif., Dec. 5 (UPI) -- A judge in Malibu has postponed arraignment for a second time for actor Nick Nolte, who was arrested in September on charges of driving under the influence and being under the influence of a controlled substance.

Judge Lawrence Mira put off Thursday's scheduled arraignment for one week to give Nolte's lawyer, Mark Werksman, time to work out a plea agreement with Los Angeles County prosecutors. The judge first postponed arraignment on Oct. 28 to give the defense time to have a blood sample tested.

Nolte was charged with being under the influence of gamma-hydroxybutyrate, or GHB, a depressant that acts on the central nervous system. The drug is popular with bodybuilders and dance/club scene regulars.

Werksman told reporters Thursday that the Oscar-nominated star of "Affliction" and "The Deep" does not know how the illegal substance was introduced into his bloodstream -- but he suspects it might have come from some of the nutritional supplements he uses.

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.