Film director Roman Polanski lost his bid on Friday to be sentenced without returning to the US when a judge ruled the director must be present in court if he wants to resolve his 32-year-old sex case.
Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza said Polanski was a fugitive from justice, adding that he was acting to protect “the dignity of the court.”
Bart Dalton, a lawyer for Polanski, said the ruling would be appealed.
Before the hearing, the judge provided lawyers with his 11-page tentative decision denying the request by the 76-year-old Polanski, who fled the US in 1978 after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.
Lawyers Chad Hummel, who represents Polanski, and Lawrence Silver, who represents victim Samantha Geimer, tried to convince Espinoza to change his mind.
But Espinoza cited a law that says someone who flees is not entitled to the processes of the court unless they return. The judge also cited the length of time Polanski had been a fugitive and the deterrent factor for others who might consider fleeing to escape justice.
Deputy District Attorney David Walgren argued vehemently against Polanski’s bid to be sentenced without returning to the US from Switzerland, where he is under house arrest and fighting extradition.
Espinoza, however, interrupted Walgren as he began to denounce the director as “this criminal, this fugitive, this child rapist.”
“This is not helpful,” Espinoza snapped. “I’d rather not inflame this proceeding.”
Polanski was initially accused of plying the 13-year-old girl with champagne and part of a Quaalude pill then raping her at actor Jack Nicholson’s house.
Polanski was indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molestation and sodomy. He later pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse.
Silver stepped to the lectern at one point to plead for a resolution of the case, saying Geimer wants it to be over.
“I implore you to end the 32-year prolonged suffering of this victim,” Silver said, citing a state constitution amendment known as Marcy’s Law meant to protect victims’ rights in criminal cases.
“I don’t think it was ever intended for this use,” said Espinoza, who found that Geimer’s rights have not been violated in the current proceeding.
In court documents, Polanski’s attorneys said the late Superior Court Judge Laurence Rittenband sentenced the director in 1978 to a diagnostic study at a California prison where he served 42 days.
Although the judge told attorneys that would be Polanski’s full sentence, he later indicated he was going to renege on the bargain and give him a harsher sentence at a scheduled hearing.
Polanski fled to France and has been a fugitive ever since.
His attorneys said the judge’s promise is binding and Polanski has served his full sentence.
BOMBARDMENT: Moscow sent more than 440 drones and 32 missiles, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, in ‘one of the most terrifying strikes’ on the capital in recent months A nighttime Russian missile and drone bombardment of Ukraine killed at least 15 people and injured 116 while they slept in their homes, local officials said yesterday, with the main barrage centering on the capital, Kyiv. Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said 14 people were killed and 99 were injured as explosions echoed across the city for hours during the night. The bombardment demolished a nine-story residential building, destroying dozens of apartments. Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble. Russia flung more than 440 drones and 32 missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
COMPETITION: The US and Russia make up about 90 percent of the world stockpile and are adding new versions, while China’s nuclear force is steadily rising, SIPRI said Most of the world’s nuclear-armed states continued to modernize their arsenals last year, setting the stage for a new nuclear arms race, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said yesterday. Nuclear powers including the US and Russia — which account for about 90 percent of the world’s stockpile — had spent time last year “upgrading existing weapons and adding newer versions,” researchers said. Since the end of the Cold War, old warheads have generally been dismantled quicker than new ones have been deployed, resulting in a decrease in the overall number of warheads. However, SIPRI said that the trend was likely
‘SHORTSIGHTED’: Using aid as leverage is punitive, would not be regarded well among Pacific Island nations and would further open the door for China, an academic said New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, it said yesterday, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China. A spokesperson for New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand early this month decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) in core sector support funding for this year and next year as it “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.” New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific
Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki yesterday erupted again with giant ash and smoke plumes after forcing evacuations of villages and flight cancelations, including to and from the resort island of Bali. Several eruptions sent ash up to 5km into the sky on Tuesday evening to yesterday afternoon. An eruption on Tuesday afternoon sent thick, gray clouds 10km into the sky that expanded into a mushroom-shaped ash cloud visible as much as 150km kilometers away. The eruption alert was raised on Tuesday to the highest level and the danger zone where people are recommended to leave was expanded to 8km from the crater. Officers also
RSS