More than three decades after Roman Polanski fled Los Angeles for France to avoid sentencing in the sexual assault of a teenager, his attorneys have opened a new front in the legal saga aimed at having all charges against the Oscar winning director dismissed.
Polanski's legal team, which now includes celebrity attorney Alan M. Dershowitz, is making
accusations of prosecutorial misconduct in its effort to end the case, which has kept the director
out of the United States as well as many countries with U.S. extradition treaties since he fled in
1978.
In court papers filed Monday in Los Angeles, Polanski's attorneys allege that district attorneys and
judges carried out "serious misconduct" in an effort to prosecute, and later force the return of, the
famed director.
The 133 page motion seeks an evidentiary hearing to determine whether "pervasive" misconduct
and a "false" extradition request sent Oct. 28, 2014, by the Department of Justice to the Polish
government requires dismissal of the case against Polanski.
A spokesman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office was not available for comment
Monday night.
The motion revives a sensational case that began in 1977, when Polanski was charged with raping
and sodomizing a 13 year old girl during a photo shoot. In a plea deal, the Polish born director
pleaded guilty to one count of statutory rape, but he was never formally sentenced.
He spent a month and a half in state prison for psychological testing, but the night before his
sentencing he fled to Europe after learning from his attorney that the judge planned to give him
additional time in prison.
Monday's motion centers on an attempt in October to arrest Polanski while he was attending the
Museum of the History of the Polish Jews in Warsaw, Poland.
Polanski's attorneys say the extradition request omits that he served court ordered prison time
because prosecutors were trying to align the case history to meet the criteria of an extradition
treaty between the United States and Poland.
The prison time has proved controversial because the order purportedly took place in 1977 in an
off the record meeting with the prosecutor and defense attorney. At the time, Judge Laurence J.
Rittenband ordered Polanski to undergo the psychiatric study at the state prison in Chino. The
prosecutor and Polanski's attorney understood that this time in the prison would serve as
Polanski's punishment, Monday's filing said.
Polanski reported to Chino and was released after 42 days.
But Rittenband then told the attorneys in private that he wanted Polanski to finish the 90 days —
and then leave the country. If he didn't leave, he'd get even more prison time.
His attorney, Douglas Dalton, alleged misconduct by the judge.
He argued that Rittenband improperly used the psychiatric study to incarcerate Polanski, that he
had no authority to compel his deportation and that he was letting media coverage and public
outcry influence his decisions.
The murky sentencing, among other factors, prompted the Swiss government in 2009 to refuse to
extradite the director when he visited the country to accept a lifetime achievement award at a film
festival.
The hearing sought Monday by Polanski's attorneys would offer "full, public disclosure of the true
facts and circumstances surrounding the 1977 and 1978 proceedings," his attorneys argued.
Polanski's attorneys also alleged that in 2008 and 2009, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge
Peter Espinoza heeded the "marching orders" of Judge David Wesley when he applied the fugitive
disentitlement doctrine, which bars those who dodge the system from finding relief in it later.
A sworn statement from a former court spokesman, along with copies of emails, allege that
Espinoza sought to bring Polanski back to the U.S. with a promise to sentence him for time served,
the documents claim.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-polanski-20141216-story.html
matt.hamilton@latimes.com Twitter: @MattHjourno Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
22 comments:
Thanks Starship. I think Roman got the runaround during his sentencing. Isn't it time to just let it go?
He can't even visit Sharon's or little Paul's graves...
Europe often doesn't extradite fugitives to the US, the death penalty often being the reason.
One of the fundamental differences between the US and Europe and one of the reasons for declaring independence from England is "double jeopardy". The double jeopardy clause was written into the 5th amendment to prevent people from being tried, prosecuted, and punished twice for the same crime.
Amanda Knox was an American tried and convicted of murder in an Italian court and sent to prison, she was later released and returned to the US. Apparently, Italy is trying to get her back to Italy for further legal proceedings. I wouldn't extradite her either.
However, considering what a mess the US legal system is with cops randomly shooting unarmed people on the street and getting away with it, US Supreme Court justices apparently taking naps when they are supposed to be working, and cases where judges are masturbating on the bench, just about any "legal" decision in the US is a crapshoot.
One of the fundamental differences between the US and Europe and one of the reasons for declaring independence from England is "double jeopardy".
Sunset, I thought it was "taxation without representation".
However, considering what a mess the US legal system is with cops randomly shooting unarmed people on the street and getting away with it
Yeah, in Europe they just bust your door down and haul you off to the gas chamber. Much nicer place!
Oh, and wait. Sometimes the bad guys shoot cops and "get away with it".
A lot of people who like to say that Manson is innocent, also like to say that the Holocaust is a myth. It never happened.
I wonder what Anne Frank would write in her diary about that.
Oh wait....she can't....she died in a concentration camp THAT DIDN'T EXIST!!! HA HA HA.
Katie,
Roman did not get the runaround, he got off easy (pardon the pun) for being a sexual predator. Though he suffered the deaths of his family, he knowingly indulged in illegal acts with an underage girl. Kind hard to move past that..
Dill, here's the way I look at it.
Roman asked this girl out twice. Her mother looked the other way to make sure her daughter was a star.
Notwithstanding the fact that Roman was a predator, these people knew better!!
There was more than Roman in charge here.
Roman molested a young girl, served time in jail and was promised that if he plead guilty, he would get probation.
Then Rittenband decided that he would put the hammer down after Roman served time. And wanted him to serve time in prison.
Is that fair? Yes, Roman did wrong. The parents did wrong. But does that judge decide after agreeing to adjudicate him to reverse that decision?
I'm not a Polanski fan, but I do believe in fair play. Come on!!
I'm not saying that Roman wasn't wrong. But I am saying that Roman wasn't the only adult in this situation.
If my 13 year old daughter had gone off with a 30 something year old man, I would have been there for EVERY photo shoot.
If that mother had done that, then nothing would have happened. But She DIDN'T! Why? I don't know.
If a mother sends her 13 year old off with an man in his 30's, does the man in his 30's assume it's okay? I don't know!
I'm not blaming it on the mother, but rather I'm blaming it on situations that should have been reversed.
A lot of women have come out of "the closet" to accuse Bill Cosby of sexual abuse. Isn't that handy?
I can't say enough about that. That seems so bogus to me it's like a Twilight Zone episode.
But no one else came out about Polanski except this girl. Which is an isolated incident.
Does that make it right? NO!
But did the judicial system treat Polanski right, or railroad him?
That's what I want to know!
And where was the Daddy in this situation? What kind of Daddy would let his 13 year old girl go off with a 30 something year old man?
People, please open your eyes! It's not just Roman's fault! I'm telling you. If parents don't care, is that a green light for men to have sex with young girls?
If this comes up in the future, please don't let your 13 year old go off with some old guy.
Please!!!
http://www.wltx.com/story/news/nation/2014/12/18/3-dead-after-car-hits-crowd-outside-church/20580061/
These type Felony DUI incidents appear to be deliberate attacks by Athiests on Christians.
Katie we do not know the answer to your question because Roman decided to not wait around and find out....
He had advice and information that he WAS SUPPOSED to get screwed- but he didn't go to court, so in fact- technically, he did the screwing and was not screwed...
screwed=railroaded
Having said that... it is NOT time to just let it go for this predator of young women. (In my opinion)
Roman- like Charlie- drugged and had sex with underage- unwilling girls. Fled responsibility, and laughs to this day in the face of those who would call him on it.
Go check out the age of Natasha Kinski when Roman was "dating' her...
By the way- he also never served any time in jail. He went into a voluntary Psychiatric evaluation for a few weeks. When he thought he may go to jail- for something he admitted to doing- he bolted...
I think he was a twit and a coward and he should rot in hell right along side of Charlie for the rest of his life really...
But aside from this you and I usually agree on most things lol so lets just split the difference ON this one ;)
Happy Holidays to all at the LSB3 Blog!!
Katie,
Sorry, but he did not serve his sentence, he was sent to a correctional facility for a pysch eval, which is fairly common. Whether the judge had a verbal agreement, or if both counsel had an understanding, until a sentence is pronounced and entered into record, it is not official, nor binding.
42 days for drugging and raping an underage girl, who could not give legal consent, is hardly an appropriate amount of time.
St. and Dill, thanks for your comments. I agree with you both.
I'm not for one minute defending what Roman did. It was disgusting.
BTW St., please don't compare Nastassja Kinski to Samantha Geimer. Nastassja was a "wild child" from years back. She tended to blame it all on her father, Klaus Kinski, for various reasons. But that's another thread. LOL.
I still feel that Samantha's parents are somewhat at fault for what happened. I for one would never let my 13 year old daughter go with any man for a photo shoot without me. If he had insisted that I not "tag along" I would have said "then go find someone else".
BUT...that has no bearing on the guilt of Polanski.
He didn't do the time he should have in prison, but you have to admit, the guy has been in "prison" ever since this happened. He's not a free man. If he goes to a country that the US can have him arrested, and perhaps indicted, he's caught.
He will most likely be in this "prison" for the rest of his life. And it is his own doing.
But isn't the point of prison to have a person self reflect and try to understand the "why" of his actions and in the future not commit the same crime?
I think Roman's "prison" has done its job. I haven't read about him getting in this kind of trouble again.
It is what it is.
Bobby!!! You rock & roll!!! :)
Oops, I meant "extradited" not "indicted".
Anyway, I have never cared much for Polanski, I've seen his films and there are only 2 that I liked. "Day of the Dolphin" and "The Pianist".
I've seen "Repulsion" and "Knife in the Water" and I thought they were disjointed and stupid.
And "The Vampire Killers"? Get outta here! So boring you might as well bring a pillow.
But, hey...that's me. LOL.
I ran across a film memoir of Polanski and I was deeply touched. I'm going to put that up for you to see. And I hope you all watch it.
The fact that Roman drugged Samantha first is truly horrible. Even if Samantha had been a 30-year-old woman, it would have been a crime to drug her.
Pole-Yank-Ski
Hi Carol! Good to see you!
Hi, Katie!
Katie, what happened to the video you posted this morning?
Carol, with all the negativity about Roman, I decided to put it back as a draft thread.
I'll repost it if you want to watch it. I thought it was very touching.
aw poor poor roman cant visit sharon or pauls graves (which are empty!) haha he didnt even bother faking a death certificate for 'paul' and sharons social is still active patti and debrah dont have a social and sharon went to hide in brazil and gave birth to jj abrams. if you look at the photos of sharon its clear she smeared herself with blood there is still colour in her lips after 12 hours after the murder AND SHE WAS SMILING!!! she is still alive and well as her sister debrah ! you all are going down you are a dying breed and hollywood has made people so dumb and lazy everyone just wants to be homeless lazy scum on the streets of LA doing drugs hahah noone watches your shitty movies anymore hollywood you are close to death! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH i hope someone buys sharons belongings and uses them in a ritual to finish the job for real haha use fire against fire.
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