Director Roman Polanski‘s lawyer filed a legal document with a Los Angeles County Superior Court seeking a hearing to close his four-decade-old sex abuse case. Massachusetts lawyer Alan M. Dershowitz, who also asked permission to represent Polanski in California, alleges prosecutors provided false information in a recent extradition attempt of Polanski, and a Superior Court judge had a secret plant to jail the director, according to the New York Times.
Polanski was charged with raping a then 13-year-old girl, Samantha Geimer, in 1977. He accepted a plea bargain and was serving time for psychiatric evaluation. But when he learned the judge intended to hand down additional jail time, he fled the country before final sentencing, settling in France.
Since that time, he and his legal team have argued that his rights were violated multiple times by Los Angeles prosecutors and judges. They assert his sentence has been fully served, but officials refuse to hear those claims until Polanski returns to the United States.
The latest claim by Polanski’s lawyer alleges that a Superior Court judge in 2008 expressed a willingness to agree that Polanski had already served his full jail sentence, but that he would first let Polanski “cool his heels in jail” by delaying the ruling for a few weeks before passing that ruling down.
The newest court filing further alleges that a recent extradition request falsely characterized Polanski as a flight risk and failed to mention that he had “already served the term of imprisonment imposed by the trial judge.” The document also pointed out that Polanski appeared voluntarily to answer questions by Polish authorities.
A Holocaust survivor born in Poland, Polanski was there in October for the opening of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw. He was detained for nine months in Switzerland in 2010 after a similar request by the United States, but officials ultimately ruled against extradition.
SAG Awards 2015: The Nominees (Photos)
Outstanding Performance Male Actor – TV Movie or Miniseries: Adrien Brody, "Houdini"; Benedict Cumberbatch (pictured), "Sherlock: His Last Vow"; Richard Jenkins, "Olive Kitteridge"; Mark Ruffalo, "The Normal Heart,"; Billy Bob Thornton, "Fargo"
Outstanding Performance Female Actor – TV Movie or Miniseries: Ellen Burstyn, "Flowers in the Attic"; Maggie Gyllenhaal, "The Honorable Woman"; Frances McDormand, "Olive Kitteridge"; Julia Roberts (pictured), "The Normal Heart"; Cicely Tyson, "The Trip to Bountiful"
Outstanding Performance Male Actor – Comedy Series (TV): Ty Burrell, "Modern Family"; Louis C.K. (pictured), "Louis"; William H. Macy, "Shameless"; Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory"; Eric Stonestreet, "Modern Family"
Outstanding Performance Female Actor – Comedy Series (TV): Uzo Aduba, "Orange Is the New Black"; Julie Bowen, "Modern Family"; Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"; Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep"; Amy Poehler (pictured), "Parks and Recreation"
Ensemble Comedy Series – TV: "The Big Bang Theory," "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," "Modern Family," "Orange Is the New Black" (pictured), "VEEP"
Female Actor – Drama Series, TV: Claire Danes, "Homeland"; Viola Davis (pictured), "How to Get Away with Murder"; Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"; Tatiana Maslany, "Orphan Black"; Maggie Smith, "Downton Abbey"; Robin Wright, "House of Cards"
Male Actor – Drama Series, TV: Steve Buscemi, "Boardwalk Empire"; Peter Dinklage, "Game of Thrones"; Woody Harrelson, "True Detective"; Matthew McConaughey (pictured), "True Detective"; Kevin Spacey, "House of Cards"
Ensemble – Drama Series, TV: "Boardwalk Empire," "Downton Abbey," "Game of Thrones" (pictured), "Homeland," “House of Cards”
Male Actor, Supporting Role – Film: Robert Duvall, "The Judge";Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood"; Edward Norton, "Birdman"; Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher"; J.K. Simmons (pictured), "Whiplash"
Female Actor, Supporting Role – Film: Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood"; Keira Knightley, "The Immitation Game"; Emma Stone (pictured), "Birdman"; Meryl Streep, "Into the Woods"; Naomi Watts, "St. Vincent"
Male Actor, Leading Role – Film: Steve Carell (pictured), "Foxcatcher"; Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Immitation Game"; Jake Gyllenhaal, "Nightcrawler"; Michael Keaton, "Birdman"; Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything"
Female Actor, Leading Role – Film: Jennifer Aniston (pictured), "Cake"; Felicity Jones, "The Theory of Everything"; Julianne Moore, "Still Alice"; Rosamund Pike, "Gone Girl"; Reese Witherspoon, "Wild"
Cast – Film: “Birdman," “Boyhood" (pictured), “The Grand Budapest Hotel," "The Imitation Game," "The Theory of Everything"
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series: "24: Live Another Day," "Boardwalk Empire," "Game of Thrones," "Homeland," "Sons of Anarchy," "The Walking Dead" (pictured)
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture "Fury" (pictured), "Get On Up," "The Hobbit: The Battles of the Five Armies," "Unbroken," "X-Men: Days of Future Past"
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The nominees for the 21st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were announced Wednesday morning on TBS by Eva Longoria and Ansel Elgort
Outstanding Performance Male Actor – TV Movie or Miniseries: Adrien Brody, "Houdini"; Benedict Cumberbatch (pictured), "Sherlock: His Last Vow"; Richard Jenkins, "Olive Kitteridge"; Mark Ruffalo, "The Normal Heart,"; Billy Bob Thornton, "Fargo"
