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Polanski Waits in Swiss Chalet While His Victim's Lawyer Argues to Drop Case
Roman Polanski in a still from the HBO docu "Wanted and Desired" which covers his trial
Director Roman Polanski is now confined to a chalet in a Swiss resort town, having posted the $4.5 million bail to release him from prison, but the next steps in his criminal case remain undetermined. Yesterday in Los Angeles the wish to have the original charges against him of sexual misconduct dropped was discussed in court, as the lawyer representing his victim, Samantha Geimer, presented arguments in favor of dropping the 32-year-old case, according to an AP report published on CBS2.com.
Geimer, now 39, has made public pleas to abandon prosecution of Polanski. Since his September arrest in Switzerland, extradition to Los Angeles has loomed for the 77-year-old Chinatown director, where he would finally face the sentencing he evaded in 1978. In 2008 an HBO documentary about the case and trial brought to light alleged misconduct on the part of the now-deceased presiding judge, but motions raised in court were stalled because Polanski refused to return to L.A. to appear in court in person as demanded.
Of course he wasn't there yesterday in court for the "lively hearing where appellate justices peppered lawyers and a prosecutor with pointed questions, often interrupting their arguments to raise new issues." No decision about the case was made; the issue continues to be whether the court can dismiss the case with Polanski not present.
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