Roman Polanski is a famous, well respected, movie director responsible for films such as Chinatown, Rosemary’s Baby and, more recently, The Pianist, which won three Oscars. However, in 1977 he drugged a 13-year-old girl, had sex with her and was arrested for it. He agreed to a plea deal, but fearing he might be sentenced to serve time in prison, he fled to France. Polanski is a naturalized French citizen and France does not extradite its citizens. For the past 30 years he has been living there as a fugitive from U.S. justice.
Recently, Polanski made plans to travel to Switzerland to accept a lifetime achievement award. Anticipating his trip, American authorities asked the Swiss to detain Polanski. They did. Upon his arrest, celebrities within the movie community, like Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, designer Diane von Furstenberg, and many others, protested and urged that the case be dismissed. France asked that Polanski be released on bail or home confinement.
It is incredible how ignorant people are with respect to the rule of law and how underappreciated that rule is. The rule of law is like a beating heart. You take it for granted while you are healthy. But if it changes rhythm, you take notice. And when it starts to deteriorate, you quickly feel the effects. So how can anyone think, after hearing that Roman Polanski has been arrested, that the case should just be dismissed? The rule of law is at the heart of a civilized society and its importance cannot be diminished.
For ANYTHING to happen, including dismissal, Polanski must appear before the court, or as we lawyers say, submit to the jurisdiction, “submit” being the operative word. Polanski’s attorneys realized this last year when they went to court, Polanski was in France at the time, and filed motions to set aside the plea and dismiss the case. The LA Superior Court Judge who heard the motion told Polanski’s lawyers that while he found their arguments compelling, he would not consider the motions until the fugitive, Polanski, returns and appears before the court. The rule of law does not operate like Hollywood, where Polanski can send “his” people to speak to “their” people.
The glitterati may get their wishes, but not before Polanski sets foot on Californian soil. While the judge could still impose a lenient sentence or even set aside the conviction, only the judge has the power to make that decision, not Hollywood.
This case is a good example of how fairness and law are two distinct concepts and many defendants can learn from it. The U.S. Department of Justice should be called the Department of Laws. While one person’s idea of justice may differ greatly from another’s, the law is still the law. It is about predictability not justice.
Polanski will not be released from a Swiss jail and should not fight extradition. The longer his defense lawyers continue to fight, a fight which he cannot win, the longer he will remain in jail in Switzerland. Polanski should consent to extradition and dispose of his case here in the U.S. It may well end favorably for him.