Legal woes of the celebrities we love

Celebrity justice

Ryder, Reubens and Gabor are but three in a long line of celebrities who’ve had run-ins with the law. A sampling from the police blotter, Hollywood-style, highlights nine names.

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Sean “P. Diddy” Combs

How dapper he looked each day in a New York courtroom last year as he faced trial on charges of weapon possession and attempted bribery. His girlfriend might have dumped him, but man, he looked good enough to be a billboard for a men’s clothing company. A men’s clothing company? What a great idea.

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Kim Delaney

The former star of “NYPD Blue” and a star on the new “CSI: Miami,” pleaded no contest in February to a charge of reckless driving after a motorist who thought she was driving erratically followed her home and alerted the cops. She refused to take a sobriety test, police said. Watch out for guys who follow you home.

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Robert Downey Jr.

We can’t keep track anymore. Some of the highlights: He spent a year in Corcoran State Prison. He scared some Malibu neighbors when he unsoberly stumbled into their home and passed out in their bed. And he messed up Ally McBeal’s love life when he left the series, possibly leading to the series’ demise.

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Zsa Zsa Gabor

The grandmammy of contemporary celebrity criminals, Gabor famously slapped a handsome Beverly Hills motorcycle cop after he stopped her for a traffic violation in 1989. She was sentenced to three days in jail. The episode provided the then-72-year-old actress with the most publicity she’d gotten in years.

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Hugh Grant

He’s so cute, he can get away with anything. Well, almost. In 1995, Grant pleaded no contest to a charge of lewd conduct with a prostitute and got two years’ probation. Then-girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley publicly forgave him. “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno welcomed him with: “What the hell were you thinking?”

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Pee-wee Herman

Paul Reubens is the one-time star of “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” a children’s show and adult cult favorite. In 1991, he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of indecent exposure. His real crime? Spawning a million bad imitations of his hilarious bar-top dance to “Tequila” in “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.”

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Tawny Kitaen

The former music video vixen agreed last month to a plea bargain on spousal abuse and battery charges. Although she did not admit guilt, Kitaen agreed to enter a spousal-battery counseling program, which could lead to the charges being dropped. Her husband, Chuck Finley, pitches for the St. Louis Cardinals.

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Nick Nolte

The raggedy actor is to be arraigned next week on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence of what prosecutors say was the date rape drug GHB. Cops arrested him on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu last month after seeing his Mercedes swerve in lanes. They say he was drooling behind the wheel. Eeew.

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Winona Ryder

The waifish actress who starred in “Beetlejuice” and “Girl, Interrupted” is on trial now in Beverly Hills. Her elbow was broken in a media crush. Her mother told US magazine the experience has been a nightmare. We can only imagine. Did she steal those rags from Saks Fifth Avenue? Stay tuned.