June 24, 2025 #1 Local News, Information and Event Source for the Century City/Westwood areas.

Judge Rejects Request by Roman Polanski’s Legal Team For Determination of Whether He Has Served Enough Time

A Los Angeles judge Monday rejected a request by Roman Polanski’s attorney for a determination that the Oscar-winning filmmaker has already served more than enough time behind bars in connection with his 1977 guilty to plea to unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl.

Defense attorney Harland Braun filed court papers March 10, saying Polanski will return to the United States for sentencing if a judge determines that he has “already done his time.”

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon, however, ruled there is “no sufficient or compelling basis for reconsideration of these issues.”

“Moreover, counsel for defendant has not presented sufficient credible, admissible evidence or legal arguments to warrant the relief requested,” Gordon wrote in a 13-page ruling.

Gordon’s ruling detailed Polanski’s attempts to get the case dismissed in 2008 and then to resolve allegations of misconduct in a 2014 filing. The judge in each of those cases declined to consider the issues while the filmmaker was a fugitive from justice.

“The People have unambiguously stated their desire to avoid discussing any substantive issues regarding Polanski’s case until he is physically present in the court’s jurisdiction,” Gordon wrote, stating that the district attorney is well within her discretion in taking that stance.

“Additionally, Polanski is not entitled to avail himself of this court’s power to hear his demands while he openly stands in contempt of a legal order from this very court,” according to the ruling.

Braun had asked in his court papers that Gordon order the District Attorney’s Office to give some indication of how much time — if any — it wants Polanski to serve if the director were to arrive in Los Angeles from his home in Paris.

Gordon denied that request.

In a separate pleading, Braun had asked the court to honor an alleged promise by Judge Laurence Rittenband to forego additional jail time for Polanski in exchange for the filmmaker’s submission to a diagnostic study.

Gordon denied that request on grounds that Polanski must present himself to the court to seek relief under the fugitive disentitlement doctrine.

Braun also asked Gordon to honor the findings of a Polish court that declined to extradite Polanski.

“The defendant may not use his fugitive status to obtain findings from a decision from a Polish court to bind this court, from which he fled,” Gordon concluded.

A request to sentence Polanski in absentia was settled in 2010 by Judge Peter Espinoza, Gordon ruled.

“One trial judge cannot reconsider an order of another trial judge, as doing so places the second judge in the role of a one-judge appellate court,” Gordon wrote, citing case law in denying that request.

Braun told City News Service he was disappointed in the ruling and in particular that Gordon did not address emails sent between the presiding judge and Espinoza in the case.

“The central issue was the secret emails between the judges,” with the presiding judge telling Espinoza “exactly how to rule,” Braun said, calling the exchange “totally improper.”

The defense attorney argued that all of the cases Gordon cites in his ruling are undermined by the existence of those emails.

“They go to the heart of the honesty of our system,” Braun said.

In 2009, Polanski’s counsel sought to disqualify Espinoza and all other Los Angeles Superior Court judges on the basis that they had prejudged the case, citing in part emails provided by a former court public information officer.

Gordon did not address the emails directly in his ruling, but pointed out that the defense’s challenge to disqualify the judges was stricken and a subsequent petition by the defense to the appellate court on the matter was summarily denied.

Gordon said no new facts had been raised by Polanski in the most recent filings.

Braun said he had not yet decided how to respond to the latest ruling, but noted that another hearing in the case is set for April 26. The matter before the court will be the defense’s request to unseal sworn testimony by Deputy District Attorney Roger Gunson.

During a hearing in March, Braun described Polanski as “an 83-year-old man with a 40-year-old case,” and said the filmmaker “has already done his time” and wants to resolve the case with a finding that he has already completed his sentence.

However, Deputy District Attorney Michele Hanisee countered that what Braun is asking for is special treatment for his client.

“The People simply do not believe that it is in the best interests of justice to give a wealthy celebrity different treatment from any other fugitive from justice,” she said.

The director, writer and producer — who won an Oscar in 2002 for “The Pianist” — pleaded guilty in 1977, but fled to France in 1978 before his sentencing and has been living in Europe.

Southern California authorities have tried for years to bring Polanski back to America.

465988507

Related Posts

(Video) Food Fight: Chefs Join Forces to Raise Money to Protect Immigrant Families in Venice

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

Estrano, Little Dynamite, Sunday Gravy, Kabob Senpai Answer the Call From Turk’s Pizza Party. Dave Turkel Put This Food Resistance...

Squatter-Plagued Beverly Grove Buildings Could Be Razed After Hazard Cleanup

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

Demolition of Three Abandoned Apartments May Begin in Two Weeks Three abandoned apartment buildings in Beverly Grove may soon be...

From Westwood to DTLA, Angelenos March Against Military Escalation in Iran

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Protestors Rally at the Westwood Federal Building This Weekend Following President Donald Trump’s authorization of airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear-related...

LAPD Sergeant Killed Assisting Crash Victims on 405 Freeway in Brentwood

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Tragic Early-Morning Collision Claims Two Lives, Including Veteran Sergeant Two people, including an LAPD sergeant, were killed early Monday in...

Recent Homebuyer Down Payments Slip for First Time in Nearly Two Years

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

April’s Median Down Payment Fell as Buyers Lean Toward Lower-Cost Homes The median down payment made by U.S. homebuyers dropped...

Del Rey Affordable Housing Project to Rise on Former Charter School Site

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Community Corp., Local Faith Group Team Up to Build 122 New Apartments Plans are moving forward for a new residential...

Paris Hilton Buys Mark Wahlberg’s Beverly Park Mansion for $63.1M

June 22, 2025

June 22, 2025

The Heiress and Media Mogul Joins a Star-Studded Neighborhood Paris Hilton and husband Carter Reum have purchased a high-profile estate...

A.O.C. Brentwood to Close After 16 Years on San Vicente Boulevard

June 22, 2025

June 22, 2025

Chef Goin and Styne Cite Unsustainably High Rent in Decision to Close  A.O.C. Brentwood, the acclaimed Westside outpost from James...

Weekend Lane Closures on PCH in Malibu Could Snarl Summer Beach Traffic

June 21, 2025

June 21, 2025

Army Corps Work Triggers Weekend Closure on Pacific Coast Highway Motorists traveling along Pacific Coast Highway this weekend should prepare...

LA City Councilwomen Yaroslavsky and Jurado Call for Legal Action Against Federal Immigration Raids

June 20, 2025

June 20, 2025

City Motion Targets Alleged Unconstitutional Tactics, End Qualified Immunity for Fed Officers  City Councilmembers Katy Yaroslavsky and Ysabel Jurado introduced...

All Aboard to LAX: Metro Opens Game-Changing Transit Hub Ahead of Global Events

June 20, 2025

June 20, 2025

 New LAX/Metro Transit Center Comes Closer to Connecting Metro Directly to LAX The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro)...

Princess Diana’s Largest Wardrobe Auction Set for Beverly Hills

June 20, 2025

June 20, 2025

Over 200 Royal Garments to Hit the Auction Block for Charity More than 200 garments and royal artifacts, including the...

Queer Beauty Through the Ages: Getty Hosts Lecture on Greek Art’s Influence on LGBTQ Aesthetics

June 20, 2025

June 20, 2025

Art Historian to Trace Homoerotic Imagery From Ancient Greece to Modern Queer Identity As part of its ongoing Pride Month...

Food Fight on the Venice Boardwalk: Chefs Stand Up for Immigrants with Food

June 20, 2025

June 20, 2025

Turk’s Pizza Party Rallies Top Local Eateries for an Immigrant Rights Fundraiser In a bold display of culinary activism, Turk’s...

Navy Vietnam Vet Finally Gets His UCLA Commencement Moment

June 20, 2025

June 20, 2025

John Fong, 80, Missed His Graduation in 1968 While in Vietnam  Nearly six decades after completing his studies, U.S. Navy...