Polanski Wants Case Thrown Out

Roman Polanski's lawyer, Chad S. Hummel, asked a California appeals court panel to dismiss the director's 1977 rape case due to an "astonishing record of misconduct" by the district attorney who prosecuted Polanski and the judge who sentenced him. "It sends chills up your spine what this judge was doing," said Hummel, describing the way the case's original judge, Laurence J. Rittenbrand, spoke with a prosecutor regarding Polanski's sentencing. The appeals court is unlikely to make a decision on the case, and will probably make a ruling on the ability of a trial judge to consider the request while Polanski remains in Switzerland. Justices suggested Polanski might be 32 years late in his request. The DA's office says that the director should not be able to ask for a dismissal until he returns from his self-imposed exile.