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LOS ANGELES – District Attorney Steve Cooley said today that although Switzerland refused to return Roman Polanski to California for sentencing, extradition will be sought if the fugitive is arrested elsewhere. “I am deeply disappointed that the Swiss authorities denied the request to extradite Roman Polanski,” Cooley said in a prepared statement. “Our office complied fully with all of the factual and legal requirements of the extradition treaty and requests by the U.S. and Swiss Departments of Justice and State.
“We will discuss with the Department of Justice the extradition of Roman Polanski if he’s arrested in a cooperative jurisdiction,” the District Attorney added.
Cooley took issue with a statement that the District Attorney’s Office had failed to file a formal extradition request prior to 2009.
“We only formally request when we are notified by a government that the fugitive is in their country,” Cooley said. “The request was filed immediately by this office after the Swiss notified us of Polanski’s expected arrival at the Zurich film festival in September 2009.”
Failure to extradite Polanski for sentencing is a “disservice to justice and other victims as a whole,” the District Attorney said. “To justify their finding to deny extradition on an issue that is unique to California law regarding conditional examination of a potentially unavailable witness is a rejection of the competency of the California courts. The Swiss could not have found a smaller hook on which to hang their hat.”
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Uh, does Dawg the Bounty Hunter have a passport? I’m sure he could use the publicity.
The DA’s office should keep a low profile. It was their corruption that started all this and their incompetence that marked the latest chapter.
“To justify their finding to deny extradition on an issue that is unique to California law regarding conditional examination of a potentially unavailable witness is a rejection of the competency of the California courts. The Swiss could not have found a smaller hook on which to hang their hat.”
Face it A-hole, they beat you because of your own incompitence, and for once in Hollywood, size didn’t matter.
I suppose that none of the actions of the LA district attorney’s office over the past year had anything to do with Cooley running for California Attorney General? Regarding the Swiss, they certainly aren’t the first to reject the competency of California courts.
Let it go. For the love of god, let it go.
Amen!
Yeah, sure, let it go – what if it was your mother or your sister? Would that be different then??
Yeah, I guess some people – including the nation of Switzerland – have no trouble with the idea of little girls getting raped.
Bad example. The victim in this case is begging to have this “let go” as well. If this were 20 years ago I would get it. 15 MAYBE. NOW?? It is 2010 and this happened in the SEVENTIES!!!!! I’m not at all saying he should be forgiven…but this happened in the SEVENTIES and it’s not like he was hiding out on some remote island no one could find! This whole thing smacks of “public agenda”.
“what if it was your mother?” Are you seriously asking that stupid question. The fake victim’s mother commited fraud against Polanski by using her daughter to get back at him because Polanski rejected her sexual advances!!!
Get a life man. Get a sniff of reality while you’re at it.
What an embarrassment for the DA’s office.
Fact is, Cooley’s office thought they were just dealing with papparazzi, when they were dealing with a serious first-world government. If you read the Swiss press today, you’ll see that the Swiss asked again and again for evidence that LA County just did not provide. How much more taxpayer money does Los Angeles want to waste on a case it can’t build?
California is imploding with debt and there chasing this guy after how many years? with no complainant.
I think the DA’s office is getting high on it’s own supply.
so we decide if a crime is a crime based on cost?
pathetic attitude and proof that morals are based on whatever makes a profit or not, as wel as if you are rich, famous or in the entertainment industry.
pity the fools who support polanski in a getting off from serving time for his crime, and I am a fan of his flicks.
so i guess nazi guards should be let off too cause they are so old and did so well since committing their crimes, in some cases in a passive role?
polanski is a coward and so are his defenders and those in europe who absolve him of having sex with a minor in such a criminal manner.
wtf people??? dont people care anymore?
Couldn’t agree more. The trial would have cost California millions, which it doesn’t have. Instead of pursuing fugitives which are currently no threat to the state, use the resources to fight more important crimes.
The complainant is the People and as a resident of Los Angeles, CA as well as a woman, I say the DA’s office should stay on top of this child rapist.
The only thing that the DA’s office had to do was comply with the request for documents in appliance with Swiss Law.
So if you want the DA’s to go on and get Polanski for that rape, maybe you should ask for a competent leadership.
Spending more money while not even doing the bare minimum should put Cooley and the rest of the office in the hot seat to say the least.
Well said.
This is what happens when DAs have to run for office.
Publius, you could not be more wrong. This “man” drugged, raped and forcibly sodomized a 13 year old girl. He then fled from a justly deserved prison sentence to live in luxury in Europe. If he is allowed to live out his life in peace, what precedent does that set for all the other “men” who are currently in the justice system for raping girls.. “Well, gee judge, Roman Polanski got away with it.”
Totally right, Rob. Law can not survive if those who break are allowed to get away with it. Polanski drugged and sodomized a 13 year old. That’s against the law and he should pay for it.
He DID “pay for it”, you imbeciles! He made a deal, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, did his time (albeit reduced, based on his professional therapist’s recommendation) and was about to be railroaded by the judge (after the deal had been done) and the screwed up legal system at the time. He got the fuck outta Dodge before his freedom was to be taken, ILLEGALLY, from him. What would YOU have done?
Put it this way: if any of you had someone in your family who did something really, really bad, went to court for it, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge (made a deal with the judge and D.A.), did his/her time, and then found out that the deal made was being rescinded – AFTER THE FACT – and that your relative was now going to be put back in prison by a corrupt legal system… Now wouldn’t you be pissed off at the system? Wouldn’t you advise that relative to get the fuck outta Dodge before the corrupt system could persecute him/her further, even if the crime committed was despicable? You’re damned right you would.
Further, haven’t any of you done something really bad in your lives? Haven’t any of you men gotten some chick drunk or high to help get her into the sack? And just because that chick (or “child”, as most of you like to call her) was under the age of consent, did that matter? Hell no, it didn’t. (I might use Levi Johnston’s example here for reference.) Sure, legally, she’s still a “child” – even in the liberal sexual days of the ’70s. And just because you were over the age of 18 (and she wasn’t), did that matter? Probably not. This happens every f’ing DAY in this country. That her own mother sent her to you with a gift bow on her head, knowing fully well what would probably happen, what would you have done?
You want to be pissed off at something – blame something/someone? Look at the attorneys who refused to provide the Swiss with private documents of Polanski’s deal – because those documents show that he did his time, based on the deal that he made. To provide those documents would prove that Polanski was being unjustly persecuted all of these years, and further that his current persecution is politically-based.
You people can pound the table all you want; can shout from the highest rooftops that “the child rapist” is getting away with it. But in doing so you are not only challenging the fair judgment of our legal system (flawed as it may be), but also heaping guilt onto the shoulders of some of your own closest friends and relatives. Look in the mirror – what’s the worst thing YOU have done? Did you pay for it? Did you?
Bunch of hypocrites…
(For the record, I hate what Polanski did. I hate that Hollywood functions, as it always has, based on a “casting couch” shortcut to getting a break in “the business”. But that’s the facts, Jack – reality bites. Her mother should have gone to jail as well.)
Stargazer you don’t have a clue about the case. Polanski never did his time, he was never sentenced so he never was given an amount of time to do. He also never did time for his crime of fleeing justice, which is a separate crime from the forcible rape that he was charged with. The deal was never completed. Secondly, there was absolutely nothing illegal about the judge’s decision to rescind the plea bargain. The only corruption was that such a light deal was offered in the first place. It is a judge’s job to correct an unjust sentence, and make the punishment fit the crime. If he had not fled, then he would have received sentence, done his time properly and probably been paroled early thanks to his wealth and lawyers. His victim could have put the incident behind her, instead of being tormented for years as she has been and will continue to be so long as Polanski remains a fugitive from justice (which makes the case permanently newsworthy). Had he simply accepted his sentence and done his time he would have been able to continue his movie career and work in the US or UK or wherever he pleased.
Secondly, you seem to be carrying a lot of guilt yourself, perhaps about some harm you did to women in your life. Why do you beat your chest insisting that Polanski’s crime was nothing unusual. When you describe getting women tipsy in order to seduce them, you ignore that the girl repeatedly refused Polanski’s advances and pleaded to be released and taken home. Would many men have relations with an intoxicated woman? Probably not if the woman started telling them no, stop, let me go. I certainly would never force myself on a woman pleading with me to stop. Sounds like you have. Troubled conscience huh?
Personally I have faced up to consequences for anything I’ve done that was seriously wrong, as most people do. Someone who refuses to shouldn’t expect much sympathy.
Best post I have ever read on this matter. We are ALL a bunch of hypocrites. Myself included…
she was thirteen. he was 40.
he drugged her
then he anally raped her
repeatedly
despite her objections
she said no over and over
she had no way of escaping
if this isn’t rape, the word has no meaning.
what crime wouldn’t you excuse?
how young does a child have to be to expect an adult not to drug her and anally rape her?
seriously. seven? four?
how old does a child have to be for you to consider rape a punishable offense?
If his deal with the judge was going to be rescinded, then he would have appealed that. That’s the way the law works. You mock the law (and thereby society) if you skip the country.
Also, your third paragraph is disgusting. No, I’ve never sodomized a child or date-raped anyone — but apparently this is quite common in your world. I just hope my daughter lives nowhere near you.
The Swiss judge has a soft spot for forcible child molesters, but presumably only if they are famous and/or wealthy.
The woman asked to drop the charges…So, as a woman and a California resident, i say – respect the victim’s wishes and drop the charges, and hey – as a nice bonus, save us all a lot of damn money. BTW, anyone who mentions Nazis or Hitler out of context to try to “win” an argument will be ignored by anyone with a working brain and sense of perspective.
I lived in the EU and there is a “brotherhood” of officials. They never rule against each other. If the French cultural guy wanted Polanski released the Swiss courts find a legalistic argument to make it so. P was sent to pysch evaluation in CA. No legal document states that this was his sentence. Else P lawyers would wave it like a flag. P acts like this was a deal that can be negotiated. That’s not how it works. He was allowed to plea down to a lesser charge and escape harsher penalties, which avoids the minor girl from having to testify. When sentencing day came he got cold feet and ran, saying he had a deal and had served him time. Not so. If so, where is the document? Even when you buy a car you get it in writing. He never had a punishment deal. If the swiss had extradited him how would they explain the 30 years of not arresting him and also not notifying the US that he was in their country. They knew he was wanted for 30 years and by their own admission didn’t arrest him earlier. He was protected by high officials in the swiss gov. until his whereabouts became too obvious to ignore.
Why is anybody surprised? The Swiss also helped the Nazis finance their reign of terror.
All this moral grandstanding is absurd. What world do you people live in? I’m afraid this WALKER TEXAS RANGER universe that you have constructed for yourselves has nothing to do with reality or the US Justice System. How horrible or not Polanski’s crime was over 30 years ago is largely immaterial. Crimes are committed everyday that are not prosecuted for numerous reasons and scads of old cases sit cold when they could be prosecuted due to limited desire and resources. Yes, cost determines if a crime will be prosecuted everyday. A DA takes into consideration many things other than the crime before he brings a case – even Law and Order watchers should know that. Resources, witnesses, strength of the case, threat to society, both positive and negative political factors, pressure from the media etc. all go into whether and how hard a case is prosecuted — this is reality. There are not enough resources in the country to prosecute every crime, even ones that you might find horrible. Choices are made.
The choice has been made for the last 30 some years not to go after Polanski – he has been in many countries (including Switzerland) multiple times and no one has ever filed for extradition until now. Strange that this happened after Polanski’s Oscar win and the HBO Polanski doc raised his profile enough for someone to score a few political points. In the unlikely event that Polanski is ever retried and sentenced by the state of CA he will likely be sentenced to time served (the original deal) or be out so fast as to make the whole thing meaningless but very expensive. CA can’t afford to house its current prisoners — someone of Polanski’s age and negligible threat level would be shown the door very quickly. That aside, none of you finger-waggers and foot-stampers were present at the crime, or part of the dealings between the DA, judge and Polanski’s attorney – you’re all sermonizing out of your posterior. In the world we live in, this is what gets your panties in a bunch?
If you want swift and perfect justice pray for it in an afterlife cause its not happening here. However, if there is perfect justice in the afterlife, I seriously doubt Roman Polanski’s situation will be the first thing on your minds.
So does this mean that District Attorney Steve Cooley is going to be fired? I sure hopes so. He pursued this vigilante justice in spite of the wishes of the alleged victim.
I agree Dog The Bounty Hunter should have been assigned the task of getting on a plane to pick up Polanksi from the Swiss. Roman P. should have been delivered to the U.S. months ago.
I hope that child molestor is looking over his shoulder every day, for the rest of his life wondering “is this the day I am going to be arrested.”
I’ve got to admit, it’s pretty ingenious of the Swiss if the facts we’re getting are right. If LA gave them the papers, it would be proof of some kind of arrangement re. his interment for psych evaluation. That’s what Polanski and his lawyer said all along, that the judge agreed to this as his full sentence. So, LA’s hands were tied. It’d be like giving them a smoking gun and then seeing if it’s still loaded.
I’m afraid that the people will probably have to be content with knowing that this felon will never set foot on US soil again. In addition, he will be limited to countries where he doesn’t have to worry about extradition atitude changing depending on the political winds.
Having said that it doesn’t mean to say you don’t hope for his jet to be diverted to the US Virgin islands while on it’s way to say, Brazil. If someone could capture his expession with a iphone they would be rich.
If Polanski indeed had a plea deal and lived up to that plea deal, that sounds like something he could have appealed all the way to the SCOTUS with the ACLU backing him all the way. Why live like a fugitive with a black mark over your name if you honestly believe you did your time?
If California truly believes that Polanski is a threat and needs to be brought to justice, they should offer a $500,000 or $1.5 million bounty for his capture and return to California.
I am sure some bounty hunter could hire a private plane and return him to face the state’s charges fro that sum. Certainly that would be cheaper than the amount of money spent on trying to get him over the years.
I’m looking at this as very much a bystander and I agree with most of the views put forward here.
The reality is that the Swiss authorities requested the LA District Attorney to provide certain papers to the case – they didn’t, so what were the Swiss to do? Legally? No one likes it, but originally, Polanski and his lawyer struck a deal with the court and then learned that it was going to be ignored; I echo an earlier comment – “what would you have done?” Honestly, Hollywood has made a living out of such scenarios through the years. Polanski ran and, I believe that he also paid a undisclosed amount of compensation to his victim. I do not bring that up as an example of how he paid for his crime – he can never pay for his crime – but only because it appears to be have been overlooked. I have no idea if he feels any remorse of his actions 30-odd years ago or if he has ever issued a public apology to his victim. I have no idea if he feels any remorse of his actions 30-odd years ago or if he has ever issued a public apology to his victim.
I like Polanski’s work, but as a woman, the crime committed was awful, but I place the basic blame with the victim’s mother for allowing her daughter to be alone “working” in this manner in the first place. And it isn’t it always beyond sadness that the desire for fame and wealth in Hollywood fuels situations such as this?
There is, however, part of me which always has to wonder this: I understand that the crime took place at Jack Nicholson’s home; I wonder if there would have been the same outcry had Nicholson been the perperator instead of this rather ugly non-American?
@stargazer
“Further, haven’t any of you done something really bad in your lives?”
No, I haven’t. Come to think of it, oh yeah, I once stole a magazine off a newsstand. Since i went scotfree, child rapists should go scotfree too?
“Haven’t any of you men gotten some chick drunk or high to help get her into the sack? ”
No, I haven’t. But it sounds like you did. Now I get your sympathy for poor old Roman.
“Look in the mirror – what’s the worst thing YOU have done? Did you pay for it? Did you?”
Hm, I think i stole some candy too 25 years ago. Dang, didn’t get my punishment for that too. Let’s set all the murderers free!
I’m curious now though: What’s the worst thing you did in your life?
It’s actually pretty simple: article 2 of the extradition treaty says it applies only to crimes with sentences of over 1 year. The only sentence on record, sort of, for Polanski was the 90 days, of which he’d already served 42 days or something like that. So the Swiss asked the DA to give them more info about what sentencing Polanski might face if they extradited him. The DA refused. The Swiss turned down the request. End of story. Honestly, it is that simple.
Roman Polanski, as brilliant a creative genius as there ever was, needs to be accountable for this crime, no matter how long ago it was committed. He could have done the time here 3o years ago and it would have LONG been over and he would have been even freer to be the brilliant artist he is here and all over the world. Just think of the work he could have produced.
Instead, his lunacy is that he has created his own prison by fleeing this country and continues to be a “wanted” man for life.
See the documentary Roman Polanski “Wanted and Desired” – it gives you a sense of the fear that motivated him to flee the country. He was not Hollywood’s darling at the time and thought he might be “railroaded”. Whatever the case, if he had a good attorney representing him, there could have been appeals, he could have had a shorter sentence for good behavior, etc., he could have served time and by now, his image totally rehabilitated like many other celebrity criminals (L’il Kim for instance- wasn’t she was just on Dancing WIth The Stars).