LOS ANGELES -- Lawyers for Roman Polanski, a fugitive in France for 30 years because of the 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.
Le Monde: Polanski Requests Dismissal
The motion alleges that a documentary about Polanski 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.
Poland-born Polanski has been living in self-imposed exile from the United States since fleeing in 1978 after pleading guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl.
"It will be nice to see Mr. Polanski again," said Sandi Gibbons, of the LA County District Attorney's Office.
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.
"The release of the documentary film, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, and its aftermath, have revealed a pattern of misconduct and improper communications between the Superior Court and the District Attorney's Office, in violation of the rule of law and without the knowledge of the defendant or his counsel," Polanski's new attorneys, Chad Hummel and Bart Dalton, said in a statement.
"This case serves as a classic example of how our justice system can be abused, and a defendants' rights trampled, by an unholy alliance between courts and criminal prosecutors," the attorneys added.
"We want to thank the media for bringing to our attention the filing in the Roman Polanski case," Gibbons said. "We have not been served with any documents by attorneys for Mr. Polanski. We are looking forward to seeing Mr. Polanski in court as the matter is litigated."
Polanski skipped sentencing and fled to France. The judge issued a warrant for his arrest that is still in effect.
Polanski has continued to direct films while in exile, including the 2002 Holocaust drama "The Pianist," for which he won the best-director Academy Award.