Polanski Appeal Rejected by California Court

Hope Roman Polanski is getting comfy in his Swiss chalet: A California state appellate court denied the director’s request to dismiss his three-decade-old child sex case Monday. Polanski wanted the case to be thrown out due to alleged prosecutorial and judicial misconduct. A year ago, a panel of three judges unanimously ruled that Polanski must surrender to U.S. authorities before moving forward on the claims of misconduct. But the acclaimed director’s lawyers argued that the “fugitive disentitlement doctrine” did not apply to Polanski due to the aforementioned misconduct claims. Though the justices concluded that the trial court did not abuse the use of the doctrine in question and refused to dismiss the action against Polanski, they made clear that the allegations of misconduct were “extremely serious,” urging those involved to investigate and respond accordingly.