LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lawyers for Roman Polanski, a fugitive for 30 years in a
notorious sex case involving a 13-year-old girl, filed a request Tuesday to
dismiss the charge against him because of prosecutorial and judicial
misconduct.

The motion alleges that a documentary about filmmaker released earlier this
year revealed “a pattern of misconduct and improper communications” between the
district attorney’s office and the judge in Polanski’s case.

“This case serves as a classic example of how our justice system can be
abused, and defendants’ rights trampled, by an unholy alliance between courts
and criminal prosecutors,” said a statement from attorneys Chad Hummel and Brad
Dalton. Dalton is the son of attorney Doug Dalton, who represented Polanski in
the original case.

Poland-born Polanski, 75, has been living in France in self-imposed exile
from the United States since fleeing in 1978 after pleading guilty to having sex
with a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles. He was initially indicted on six felony
counts and faced up to life in prison. Instead, he pleaded guilty to one count
of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and five other counts were
dismissed.

Polanski, who had already been incarcerated for a psychological diagnosis,
skipped sentencing that would have sent him back to prison and fled to France.
The judge issued a warrant for his arrest that is still in effect. The maximum
sentence was 50 years, although prosecutors had said at the time that the
typical sentence was 16 months to three years in prison.

Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for District Attorney Steve Cooley, said her
office had not been served with the motion and only heard about it through media
reports. She said the office could not take a position until they see the legal
papers.

“We’re looking forward to seeing Mr. Polanski in Los Angeles to litigate it,”
she said.

A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Jan. 21 in Los Angeles County
Superior Court.

Polanski, the director of “Chinatown” and “Rosemary’s Baby,” has continued to direct films while
in exile, including the 2002 Holocaust drama “The Pianist,” for which he won the best-director Academy
Award.

The woman with whom Polanski admitted having sexual intercourse has said she
wants the charge dropped and that Polanski should be allowed to return to the
United States.

The new effort to wipe out the charge comes in the wake of an HBO
documentary, “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired” in which the man
who prosecuted Polanski, retired Deputy District Attorney Roger Gunson, said
that if he had been in Polanski’s position, he also would have fled the
country.

The documentary also portrayed the late Superior Court Judge Laurence J.
Rittenband as a publicity hound who held press conferences and engaged in
extra-judicial meetings about the case.

The case was a sensation when it broke. Polanski, the widower of Manson
family murder victim Sharon Tate, was arrested for having sex with the
girl he hired as a model for a photo shoot. He was accused of giving her
Quaaludes, taking her into a hot tub nude and having sex with her.

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