Reality star is cut out of billionaire husband's will
Polanski Must Come to L.A. for Sentencing, Judge Rules
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Friday denied Roman Polanski's request to be sentenced in absentia for a 1977 sexual assault charge.
In his ruling Friday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza told the packed courtroom, "I choose to insist on the integrity of the judicial system that he appear. The motion is denied."
Espinoza said he did not disagree that "the intended sentence was the time served at Chino [42 days]. But the sentence was never imposed.”
"I have made it clear he needs to surrender," he said.
Waving a hand toward the gallery, Polanski's lead Los Angeles lawyer, Chad Hummel, claimed the judge had declined to sentence in Polanski in absentia because of the heavy media presence: "Why should he show up? For what -- a show?"
Deputy D.A. David Walgren's rebuttal to Hummel seethed with indignation.
"Nearly a year later we're still litigating Mr. Polanski's surrender,” said Walgren. “Mr. Polanski is not the one to decide how this case will proceed through the judicial system."
Walgren further denounced the request to dismiss the case, made by the attorney of Polanski's victim.
Her lawyer, Lawrence Silver, based his written argument on part of the state constitution that calls for the desires of crime victims to be taken into consideration when prosecutors are contemplating filing criminal charges against suspects.
Walgren described Silver's letter to the court as “a cynical perversion of Marsy's Law.”
Hummel, in his second address to the court, referred to the extradition treaty with Switzerland, where Polanski is currently living under house arrest, pending a Swiss decision on the U.S.' request to send the director to Los Angeles. He pointed out that it bars the extradition of detainees if their original sentence was six months or less. Polanski's was 90 days, before he entered his six-week Chino stay.
A state appellate court had proposed in absentia sentencing last month as a way for Polanski to put an end to the matter without being required to return to the United States.
The hearing concluded without an indication of when the court would reconvene on the case.
Once more, all attention has shifted back to Switzerland.
Comments
Bud Says
On the front page of the Los Angeles Times on Feb 1st 1978 it states that:
The Santa Monica Judge Rittenband ordered that he would sentence Polanski in absentia after 10 days if Polanski did not return to his courtroom in 10 days.
More than 10 days have passed and
And thus Judge Rittenband’s 2/1/78 order is the law of Roman Polanski's case, since Polanski had already fled the Santa Monica Court by 2/1/1978 when Judge Rittenband made his order to sentence Polanski in absentia.
Nothing the new Judge, Judge Peter Espinoza can do or say now can cover up prosecutorial and judicial misconduct against Roman Polanski, that came to pass in the Santa Monica Courthouse 32 years ago.
Even if the Judge wants to preserve the dignity of the Los Angeles and Santa Monica Superior court now, the damage has already been done to Roman Polanski in his case.
Polanski was discriminated against, treated differently by the Santa Monica Court and Prosecutors for not being an American citizen, through coercion and Polanski was set up and victimized by bait and switch injustice in the Santa Monica CA Courthouse, which acted as a façade for justice.
By Judge Espinoza not agreeing to sentence Polanski in absentia now which the original Judge Rittenband was agreeable to,
Judge Espinoza's action against closure, distracts from or condones the original Judicial & Prosecutorial misconduct against Polanski and the current retaliation against Polanski for director Marina Zenovich exposing the judicial misconduct in the Santa Monica Courthouse in the movie Polanski Wanted and Desired.
A sensible solution would be to end the torture for all concerned, and sentence Polanski in absentia as per the original judge Rittenband's Feb 1st 1978 order, since it is quite visible & written the day after the end of January in 1978.
Note: The link for the front page of the Los Angeles Times of 1st February 1978 can be found at
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/02/la-authorities-trying-to-c...
and
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/files/1978_0201_polanski.jpg
Brian R. Says
The Judge should have held Polanski's lawyer/liar in contempt and ordered him to jail until his client appears. LA should put a bounty on his head so a legion of bounty hunters desend upond Switzerland to drag him back.
Bubba Says
The Judge's decision is highly unsurprising!
If Roman Polanski could not trust the integrity of the Los Angeles County Judicial system the first time around, why should he now ?
The child Roman Polanski could not trust those who ran his country and so why should he trust now when the officials have already proven that they could not be trusted when Judge Rittenband was going to renege on the original plea bargain agreement and practice extortion on Polanski.
The Los Angeles Superior Court Judge said today January 22nd 2010
"I choose to insist on the integrity of the judicial system that he [Roman Polanski] appear. The motion is denied."
I am glad this judge insists on the integrity of the Judicial system but the problem is there is often no integrity in the California Justice system.
This situation is bad enough for Californians and Americans, but why should a foreigner like Polanski have to put up with a corrupt California judicial and prosecutorial system and after a period of 32 years has gone by ?????
Rosemary's Baby is alive and prospering in California, and Rosemary's Baby's is Judicial Misconduct.
Roman Polanski is not the only instance of Judicial Misconduct in the Santa Monica Courthouse as there are other instances which in fact parallel Roman Polanski's movie Rosemary's Baby, with secret covens of police in the Santa Monica courtroom to boot, assault and batter sexual assault victims, which unjust administration of justice is then covered up by the Santa Monica Courthouse Judge, California Justices, County of Los Angeles Sheriff's department and Police in a similar fashion to a Cluster F....
California justice currently does not care about sexual assault victims obviously.
For More Info:
http://cache.zoominfo.com/CachedPage/?archive_id=2999255&page_id=4050218...
Polanski's should be sentenced to time served in absentia. End of Story.
Steven Mikulan Says
No! I don't know one way or the other, although if either were present today, they definitely were not sitting with the defense.
directore Says
Steven you wouldn't know whether French and Polish consuls general were present at the hearing? (French one had a place at the defense table in December I know for sure). thanks