Polanski's Lawyers Seek to Have Sex Case Dismissed

Lawyers for fugitive film director Roman Polanski on Monday sought to have a 1970s rape case against him dismissed, accusing the Los Angeles County Superior Court of bias and prejudice against the director.
Polanski fled to his native France in 1978 after being convicted of having sex with a 13-year-old girl. He has never returned to the United States since then.
Attorneys Chad Hummel and Bart Dalton, who filed court papers last month seeking the dismissal of Polanski's case, joined former Polanski attorney Douglas Dalton on Monday in calling for the matter to be referred to the California Judicial Council for "selection of an impartial, out-of-county judicial officer."
The lawyers filed a 20-page motion arguing that the Los Angeles Superior Court system "should be disqualified from deciding the central issues of judicial and prosecutorial misconduct presented in the request."
"There is no question that a reasonable person would entertain doubts concerning the court's ability to be impartial here," the lawyers wrote.
Court spokesman Allan Parachini said he had no response to the latest filing, noting that it is a "pending case at this point."
A hearing has been set for Jan. 21 before a judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court on the defense's request for the court to dismiss the case.
In its filing last month, the defense contended that there was "extraordinary new evidence" of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct in the handling of the Oscar-winning director's case. Such evidence were mostly detailed in the recent television documentary "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired."
The attorneys argued in their motion last month that the restriction on Polanski's travels "has not only deprived him of his basic freedoms, but has also deprived him of numerous opportunities to work on film projects outside France."
Polanski won an Academy Award for directing "The Pianist," and was nominated for directing "Tess" and "Chinatown." He also won an Oscar nomination for writing the adapted screenplay for "Rosemary's Baby."