Johannesburg

Friday

More sun than clouds. Pleasantly warm.

16°C
28°C

7 day forecasts

Polanski loses bid to move case

2009-01-10 18:02

Los Angeles - Fugitive filmmaker Roman Polanski on Friday lost his bid to disqualify the Los Angeles County court system from considering his motion to dismiss a 30-year-old charge of unlawful sex with a minor.

Lawyers for the Oscar-winning director behind such classics as Rosemary's Baby and Chinatown filed court papers this week requesting the case be referred to the California Judicial Council for "selection of an impartial, out-of-county" judge.

But Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza ruled the defence motion "discloses no legal grounds for disqualification" and was therefore "ordered stricken".

Polanski's lawyers filed a separate motion in December seeking to dismiss the 30-year-old case altogether, citing "extraordinary new evidence" of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct.

LA judge in case improperly coached

A hearing on that motion is set for January 21, but Polanski's lawyers have said he has no plans to return for the proceeding. The District Attorney's Office filed its formal response on Tuesday opposing a dismissal.

Polanski, 75, an Academy Award winner in 2003 for directing the Holocaust drama The Pianist, fled the United States for France in 1978 as he was about to be sentenced for his guilty plea on charges of having unlawful sex with an underage girl.

He already had spent 42 days incarcerated for psychiatric evaluation and became convinced the judge intended to send him back to prison, contrary to the plea deal he had reached.

A citizen of his native France, Polanski cannot be extradited but faces arrest as a fugitive from justice the moment he sets foot on US soil.

His bid to dismiss the matter stems from claims that the now-dead Los Angeles judge in the case was improperly coached by a deputy district attorney, David Wells, since retired, ahead of sentencing.

- Reuters

inside news24

Weather
Traffic
Lottery
Cpt: 16-27°C Sunny. Warm. Pta: 19-30°C Showers late. More sun than clouds. Pleasantly warm.
Jhb: 16-28°C More sun than clouds. Pleasantly warm. Bloem: 15-32°C Sunny. Pleasantly warm.
Dbn: 18-20°C A few showers. Partly cloudy. Cool. PE: 15-21°C Mostly sunny. Mild.
7 day forecasts...

Jobs - Find your dream job

HR PA / Administrator

Western Cape
Personastaff

HR PA / Administrator

Western Cape
Personastaff

Project Engineer

Mpumalanga
Budget Recruitment Services

Cars - Search 1000's of new and used cars

AUDI

2009 Audi A3 2.0 T Sportback Manual - 24000kms
Lava Grey & Tan leather interior
R 275 000

TOYOTA

Yaris T3 Sedan 1.3 AC
2007
R 105,990.00

VOLKSWAGEN

Polo 1.6 Comfortline 5-dr
2008
R 144,995.00

SUBARU

Impreza 2.0 WRX AWD
2005
R 159,990.00

Property - Find a new home

WATERVAL EAST

Single Residential R2,400,000

KWAAIWATER

Single Residential R2,500,000

WELBEDACHT

Single Residential R2,600,000

Travel - Look, Book, Go!

Luxury bush escape

Book a five-star stay at Pumba Game Lodge or Richard Branson's Ulusaba Safari Lodge and save R2 000. More details!

Free Games - TOO MUCH NEWS? TAKE A BREAK!

Kalahari.net - shop online today

Great Festive Savings on Books

Up to 30% Off ALL Books. 2.3 million titles on SALE.

Sleek New iPod Range. Order Your's Now!

iPod nano 16GB - Black, Was R2,499.00 Now R2,299.00! Save R200!

Up to 40% off Fabulous Festive Flicks

46 000 DVDs and Blu-Ray on sale now! Pre-order Up and District 9!

Up to 20% off ALL Music

100s of festive new releases now in stock! Now, Bump 25, Bon Jovi & more!

1000s of Festive Toys on Sale

Lots of Toys, free gift wrap, lowest prices on Lego Mindstorm, Ben 10, Hannah Montana & more!

Hot Deal of the Day!

Wii Limited Edition Black

Was R3,150.95 Now R2,899.95

Designed to attract people, regardless of their age or video game experience, to sit down & play together!

Up to 40% Off Sale on All Books, Toys, CDs, DVDs & Games!