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Re: Prosecutor: Judge reneged on promise in liberal pedophile Polanski abuse case
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Bruce Springsteen has always sucked
Jul 18, 2022, 7:25:03 PM7/18/22
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In article <t2svmo$3rhpb$6...@news.freedyn.de>
<governo...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
LOS ANGELES -- A Los Angeles judge privately told lawyers he
would renege on a promise and imprison Roman Polanski for
sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl in 1977, a former prosecutor
testified, setting the stage for the renowned director to flee
the U.S. as a fugitive.
A previously sealed transcript obtained by The Associated Press
late Sunday of testimony by retired Deputy District Attorney
Roger Gunson supports Polanski’s claim that he fled on the eve
of sentencing in 1978 because he didn’t think he was getting a
fair deal.
Gunson said during closed-door testimony in 2010 that the judge
broke a promise to let Polanski go free after state prison
officials had determined he shouldn't serve hard time.
“The judge had promised him on two occasions ... something that
he reneged on,” Gunson said. “So it wasn’t surprising to me
that, when he was told he was going to be sent off to state
prison ... that he could not or would not trust the judge.”
Polanski’s victim testified before a grand jury that during a
photo shoot at Jack Nicholson’s house in March 1977 when the
actor wasn’t home, Polanski gave her champagne and part of a
sedative, then forced her to have sex. The girl said she didn’t
fight him because she was afraid of him but her mother later
called police.
When the girl refused to testify in court, Polanski pleaded
guilty to unlawful sex with a minor in exchange for prosecutors
dropping drug, rape and sodomy charges. She has since called for
an end to case.
Defense lawyer Harland Braun said Friday — in expectation of the
transcript's release — that the development would renew his
effort to have Polanski sentenced in absentia, which would end
his status as a fugitive from justice.
Braun has unsuccessfully tried that before with prosecutors
asserting and judges agreeing that Polanski needs to show up in
Los Angeles Superior Court to resolve the matter.
Release of the transcript, which was ordered by a California
appeals court Wednesday after Los Angeles District Attorney
George Gascón dropped longstanding objections his predecessors
made to its release, may support Polanski's claims that he was
going to be railroaded by a corrupt judge.
The legal saga has played on both sides of the Atlantic as a
recurring scene over four decades of a life marred by tragedy
and also triumph.
As a child, Polanski escaped the Krakow Ghetto during the
Holocaust. His wife, Sharon Tate, was among the seven people
murdered in 1969 by followers of Charles Manson.
Polanski, 88, who was nominated for Oscars for 1974's
“Chinatown” and 1979's “Tess,” won the best director statuette
for “The Pianist” in 2003. But he wasn't able to accept it
because he faces arrest in the U.S.
France, Switzerland and Poland rejected bids to extradite him
back to the United States and he continues to be feted in
Europe, winning praise and working with major actors. The
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, however, expelled
him from its membership in 2018 after the #MeToo movement
spurred a reckoning about sexual misconduct.
Polanski has argued that there was judicial misconduct in his
case. In 2010, a Los Angeles court took sealed testimony from
Gunson about his recollections of promises made to the director
by the judge in 1977.
Polanski’s lawyers, who were in the room during Gunson's
testimony but couldn't use it in court, have long sought to
unseal that transcript to help their case.
Judge Laurence Rittenband, now deceased, had been swayed by
publicity in the case and changed his mind several times about
the punishment Polanski should face, Braun said.
After a report by probation officials that Polanski should serve
no time behind bars, Rittenband sent the director to state
prison for a 90-day diagnostic evaluation to help determine what
punishment he should face.
The judge said that as long as Polanski received a favorable
report from the prison, he would serve no additional time,
Gunson said.
After six weeks of evaluation in prison, Polanski was released
with a recommendation he only serve probation, Braun said.
But Rittenband thought the probation and prison reports were
superficial and a “whitewash," said Gunson, who agreed they
downplayed or misstated Polanski's crimes.
The judge privately told Gunson and Polanski's lawyer that he
had to be tougher because of criticism in the news media.
He said he would send Polanski to prison for a longer term but
would then get him released within 120 days, which was possible
under sentencing rules at the time.
“Roman says, ‘How can I trust the judge that’s lied twice?’ So
he takes off to Europe,” Braun said.
Gunson acknowledged during his testimony that the judge had
discretion to sentence Polanski up to 50 years because there had
been no agreed-upon sentence. But Gunson objected to the “sham”
proceedings the judge was orchestrating and felt he had broken
promises to Polanski.
The victim, Samantha Geimer, has long advocated that the case be
dismissed or that Polanski be sentenced in absentia. She went so
far as as to travel from her home in Hawaii to Los Angeles five
years ago to urge a judge to end “a 40-year sentence which has
been imposed on the victim of a crime as well as the
perpetrator.”
“I implore you to consider taking action to finally bring this
matter to a close as an act of mercy to myself and my family,”
Geimer said.
The Associated Press does not typically name victims of sex
abuse, but Geimer went public years ago and wrote a memoir
titled “The Girl: A Life in the Shadow of Roman Polanski.” The
cover features a photo shot by Polanski.
Polanski agreed to pay Geimer over $600,000 to settle a lawsuit
in 1993.
Geimer, who has pressed for investigation of judicial
misconduct, asked that the transcript be unsealed and in a
letter last month and urged the DA’s office to take a fresh look
at the case.
Prosecutors have consistently objected to releasing the material
but relented earlier this week to honor Geimer’s wishes and be
transparent with the public.
“This case has been described by the courts as ‘one of the
longest-running sagas in California criminal justice history,’”
Gascón said in a statement. “For years, this office has fought
the release of information that the victim and public have a
right to know."
However, the DA did not indicate that Polanski would be able to
avoid a court appearance. The press release said Polanski
remains a fugitive and should surrender to the court for
sentencing.
https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/prosecutor-us-
judge-planned-renege-polanski-deal-86999312
<governo...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
LOS ANGELES -- A Los Angeles judge privately told lawyers he
would renege on a promise and imprison Roman Polanski for
sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl in 1977, a former prosecutor
testified, setting the stage for the renowned director to flee
the U.S. as a fugitive.
A previously sealed transcript obtained by The Associated Press
late Sunday of testimony by retired Deputy District Attorney
Roger Gunson supports Polanski’s claim that he fled on the eve
of sentencing in 1978 because he didn’t think he was getting a
fair deal.
Gunson said during closed-door testimony in 2010 that the judge
broke a promise to let Polanski go free after state prison
officials had determined he shouldn't serve hard time.
“The judge had promised him on two occasions ... something that
he reneged on,” Gunson said. “So it wasn’t surprising to me
that, when he was told he was going to be sent off to state
prison ... that he could not or would not trust the judge.”
Polanski’s victim testified before a grand jury that during a
photo shoot at Jack Nicholson’s house in March 1977 when the
actor wasn’t home, Polanski gave her champagne and part of a
sedative, then forced her to have sex. The girl said she didn’t
fight him because she was afraid of him but her mother later
called police.
When the girl refused to testify in court, Polanski pleaded
guilty to unlawful sex with a minor in exchange for prosecutors
dropping drug, rape and sodomy charges. She has since called for
an end to case.
Defense lawyer Harland Braun said Friday — in expectation of the
transcript's release — that the development would renew his
effort to have Polanski sentenced in absentia, which would end
his status as a fugitive from justice.
Braun has unsuccessfully tried that before with prosecutors
asserting and judges agreeing that Polanski needs to show up in
Los Angeles Superior Court to resolve the matter.
Release of the transcript, which was ordered by a California
appeals court Wednesday after Los Angeles District Attorney
George Gascón dropped longstanding objections his predecessors
made to its release, may support Polanski's claims that he was
going to be railroaded by a corrupt judge.
The legal saga has played on both sides of the Atlantic as a
recurring scene over four decades of a life marred by tragedy
and also triumph.
As a child, Polanski escaped the Krakow Ghetto during the
Holocaust. His wife, Sharon Tate, was among the seven people
murdered in 1969 by followers of Charles Manson.
Polanski, 88, who was nominated for Oscars for 1974's
“Chinatown” and 1979's “Tess,” won the best director statuette
for “The Pianist” in 2003. But he wasn't able to accept it
because he faces arrest in the U.S.
France, Switzerland and Poland rejected bids to extradite him
back to the United States and he continues to be feted in
Europe, winning praise and working with major actors. The
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, however, expelled
him from its membership in 2018 after the #MeToo movement
spurred a reckoning about sexual misconduct.
Polanski has argued that there was judicial misconduct in his
case. In 2010, a Los Angeles court took sealed testimony from
Gunson about his recollections of promises made to the director
by the judge in 1977.
Polanski’s lawyers, who were in the room during Gunson's
testimony but couldn't use it in court, have long sought to
unseal that transcript to help their case.
Judge Laurence Rittenband, now deceased, had been swayed by
publicity in the case and changed his mind several times about
the punishment Polanski should face, Braun said.
After a report by probation officials that Polanski should serve
no time behind bars, Rittenband sent the director to state
prison for a 90-day diagnostic evaluation to help determine what
punishment he should face.
The judge said that as long as Polanski received a favorable
report from the prison, he would serve no additional time,
Gunson said.
After six weeks of evaluation in prison, Polanski was released
with a recommendation he only serve probation, Braun said.
But Rittenband thought the probation and prison reports were
superficial and a “whitewash," said Gunson, who agreed they
downplayed or misstated Polanski's crimes.
The judge privately told Gunson and Polanski's lawyer that he
had to be tougher because of criticism in the news media.
He said he would send Polanski to prison for a longer term but
would then get him released within 120 days, which was possible
under sentencing rules at the time.
“Roman says, ‘How can I trust the judge that’s lied twice?’ So
he takes off to Europe,” Braun said.
Gunson acknowledged during his testimony that the judge had
discretion to sentence Polanski up to 50 years because there had
been no agreed-upon sentence. But Gunson objected to the “sham”
proceedings the judge was orchestrating and felt he had broken
promises to Polanski.
The victim, Samantha Geimer, has long advocated that the case be
dismissed or that Polanski be sentenced in absentia. She went so
far as as to travel from her home in Hawaii to Los Angeles five
years ago to urge a judge to end “a 40-year sentence which has
been imposed on the victim of a crime as well as the
perpetrator.”
“I implore you to consider taking action to finally bring this
matter to a close as an act of mercy to myself and my family,”
Geimer said.
The Associated Press does not typically name victims of sex
abuse, but Geimer went public years ago and wrote a memoir
titled “The Girl: A Life in the Shadow of Roman Polanski.” The
cover features a photo shot by Polanski.
Polanski agreed to pay Geimer over $600,000 to settle a lawsuit
in 1993.
Geimer, who has pressed for investigation of judicial
misconduct, asked that the transcript be unsealed and in a
letter last month and urged the DA’s office to take a fresh look
at the case.
Prosecutors have consistently objected to releasing the material
but relented earlier this week to honor Geimer’s wishes and be
transparent with the public.
“This case has been described by the courts as ‘one of the
longest-running sagas in California criminal justice history,’”
Gascón said in a statement. “For years, this office has fought
the release of information that the victim and public have a
right to know."
However, the DA did not indicate that Polanski would be able to
avoid a court appearance. The press release said Polanski
remains a fugitive and should surrender to the court for
sentencing.
https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/prosecutor-us-
judge-planned-renege-polanski-deal-86999312
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