Ex-Court Official to Be Evaluated for Cocaine ‘Diversion’ Program : Drugs: If Robert K. Tuller completes the rehabilitation and stays clean, the charges will be dropped. But based on a police report, the prosecutor opposes giving Tuller the therapy.

Robert K. Tuller, who resigned as a Fullerton Municipal Court commissioner after he was caught buying cocaine, Friday took the first step in a process that could lead to the dismissal of drug charges if he undergoes drug rehabilitation therapy.

Tuller, 46, appeared in Municipal Court for arraignment on one felony count of possession of cocaine, but he did not enter a plea. Instead, Municipal Judge Gary P. Ryan ordered him to be evaluated for the “diversion” program, in which charges are dropped against qualified first-time drug offenders if they complete a rehabilitation program and stay clean.

Ryan’s decision means that the county Probation Department will assess Tuller’s suitability for the program. At a hearing Aug. 3, a judge will decide whether Tuller will be admitted into the diversion program, said his attorney, Lloyd L. Freeberg Jr.

Tuller was arrested in a police sting at an Anaheim hotel room May 11, moments after police said he bought cocaine from an undercover officer. Tuller recently completed a 30-day rehabilitation program at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage and is still receiving follow-up care locally. He resigned as commissioner earlier this month.

Freeberg asked Ryan to order Tuller into the diversion program immediately, without the Probation Department evaluation, but Ryan declined.

Freeberg said it would not be fair to prosecute Tuller rather than permit him to enter the diversion program.

“Bob is actually getting tougher treatment than the average citizen,” Freeberg said. “Anyone else with the same offense would get diversion in a heartbeat. From the very start, he’s evidenced a desire for rehabilitation.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Carl W. Armbrust acknowledged that legally, Tuller qualifies for the diversion program because he has no prior felony convictions and he has never been convicted of a drug offense.

Qualified defendants are rarely denied places in the diversion program.

“He’ll qualify for the program, no doubt about it,” said Fullerton Municipal Judge Margaret Anderson, who knows Tuller. “He’s been in the community for many years. He’s an attorney. He’s been a commissioner. He has family here. He won’t run away. He is making a sincere effort to get his life back on track.”

But Armbrust said that even though Tuller is qualified for the program, he should not be accepted, based on a statement Tuller made to arresting officers that he had “got help” for his cocaine problem earlier but had reverted to using the drug.

“I don’t think he’s a suitable candidate,” Armbrust said. “He’s already been through one program, and he went back to using.”

But Freeberg said the police report reflecting Tuller’s statement was incorrect. He said Tuller meant that he had tried on his own to conquer his addiction but had not succeeded.

Anderson said Tuller should not be penalized because he held a position in the public eye.

“We’re all human beings,” she said. “He should be treated equally, not more harshly because of his position. That’s what equal justice under the law means.”

If Tuller is permitted into diversion, he will take several months of drug-rehabilitation classes, then his case will be “put on hold” for a while, Freeberg said.

After a period determined by a judge, probably about a year, he will be checked to make sure he has committed no other drug offenses, and if he has not, charges against him will be dropped, Freeberg said.

Freeberg said Tuller is “feeling good, very optimistic” about his life, focusing much of his energy on his weekly group therapy sessions.

But he will soon turn to rebuilding his professional life. He has received many expressions of support and many job offers, Freeberg said.