U.S. Court rejects Polanski’s request for sex-case dismissal

A California appeals court on Monday discarded Polanski’s call for dismissal or re-evaluation of a 1977 case of unlawful sex with a minor but it was suggested that judicial and prosecutorial misconduct in this case was probable.

The court slammed prosecutors for not successfully reviewing the facts about official misconduct in the case and suggested that Polanski could be sentenced even as he remains under house arrest in Switzerland.

The judges claimed to be "deeply concerned that these allegations of misconduct have not been addressed by a court".

"Polanski's allegations urgently require full exploration and then, if indicated, curative action for the abuses alleged here,” they said.

Polanski’s way out
A panel of three justices of California’s second appellate district, which rejected Polanski’s petition for freedom, put forward a way that might save the director from being extradited from Switzerland or from serving extra time in the jail. He may either file a motion to be sentenced in absentia, or agree to be sentenced in person by giving up on his extradition struggle and moving back to the United States.

The director, known for movies like ‘Chinatown’ and ‘Rosemary’s Baby’, is a holder of both French and Polish citizenship. In 1978, he pleaded guilty to having unlawful sex with a minor, following which he fled the United States and started living in France.

The girl, Samantha Geimer, who was only 13 back then, has since joined with Polanski in his plea for dismissal of the case.

Shackled in Switzerland
Earlier in September, American officials requested Polanski’s extradition from Switzerland, where he went to attend a film festival but ended up being arrested as a fugitive. Swiss authorities have fitted the director with an electronic bracelet to keep him from running away.

The appeals court supported a ruling by Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza, who had declined to hear the case in absence of the director.

"Even in light of our fundamental concern about the misconduct that has been alleged here with significant evidentiary support, flight was not Polanski's only option. It was not even his best option," they said.

The recent release of the case has once again ignited a strong public debate worldwide, with many demanding Polanski’s imprisonment while others backing his pleas for freedom.

Documentary disclosure
An HBO documentary ‘Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired’ had exposed official misconduct in the Roman Polanski case. The judges said they had watched the movie, which revealed that David Wells, a retired deputy district attorney, had secretly advised the late Superior Court Judge Laurence J. Rittenband on the proceedings in the Polanski case.

"If Wells's account is true, Judge Rittenband was ushered along a path of iniquity by an officer of the court with a personal axe to grind and no hesitation to engage in unethical ex parte communications and devise illegal, nonappealable sentences to circumvent the defendant's due process and sentencing rights," the opinion said.

Later, however, Wells said he had lied in the interviews that were quoted in the documentary.

Meanwhile, the district attorney's office issued a statement saying they’re awaiting a decision by Swiss authorities on Polanski’s extradition, so “all issues can be resolved by the Superior Court”.

The Polanski case has been labeled as "one of the longest-running sagas in California criminal justice history”.