Polanski loses sex case dismissal bid

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Polanski loses sex case dismissal bid

AP
December 25, 2014, 9:34 am

Roman Polanski has lost his latest bid to have a California court dismiss his 1977 sex case when a judge rejected a motion for a new hearing.

A nine-page order issued on Tuesday by Superior Court Judge James Brandlin states that Polanski's claims of judicial misconduct cannot be addressed because he remains a fugitive outside the country after pleading guilty to unlawful sex with a minor in 1977.

Polanski's lawyers have sought a public evidentiary hearing for the case, claiming a judge who handled the matter in 2008 and 2009 committed misconduct by failing to properly consider a dismissal motion due to pressure from a presiding judge.

Bart Dalton, an attorney for Polanski, said he had not yet seen the order and could not comment.

Brandlin's order states Polanski has other options in his latest push to dismiss the case, including returning to California to address his claims.

In a 1977 deal with prosecutors, the Oscar-winning director pleaded guilty to one count of statutory rape for having sex with a 13-year-old girl during a photo shoot in Los Angeles.

Polanski was ordered to undergo a psychiatric study at the state prison in Chino, where he served 42 days.

The prosecutor and Polanski's attorney have said they understood from a private conversation with the judge handling the case that the time in the prison would serve as Polanski's punishment.

However, lawyers for the 81-year-old director said the judge later reneged on the agreement and suggested Polanski would go back to prison. Polanski then fled to France.

Polanski won an Academy Award for best director for his 2002 film The Pianist and was nominated for 1974's Chinatown and 1979's Tess.