Legal Commentary

The Fleecing of Roman Polanski

By Jeralyn

I finished watching "Wanted and Desired" last night, with my good friend Anita Thompson, who is down from Owl Farm and staying with me a few nights a week for the next month or so as she takes the LSAT prep course in Denver. She was a toddler in 1977 when Polanski was arrested and hadn't followed the case.

Now, having watched the film, and listened to ex-prosecutor David Wells tell in his own words how he manipulated and advised the Judge behind closed doors how to get around a plea bargain in a manner that would prevent Polanski from appealing, heard the Judge state in his own words how he intended to impose an illegal condition on Polanski, watched as both the DA on the case and Polanski's lawyer separately tell, in their own words, the same story about the judge's misconduct, from making express promises he later renegged on to forcing them to participate in a sham hearing while demanding they not tell the media, listened to the victim and her lawyer describe, in their own words, how events transpired and how the Judge disregarded what was in her best interests, Anita too is appalled at how Roman Polanski was treated. [More...]

That this could happen to a famous director with excellent representation should send shivers to everyone else about what could happen to them. Instead, people want to spout off on the vigilante justice they think appropriate for Polanski based on crimes to which he never pleaded guilty and which were never proven in a court of law.

Ignorance and vengeance knows no bounds in the court of public opinion. Particularly by those who turn a blind eye to the facts. (Here is the Motion to Dismiss (pdf)and the Victim's Declaration (pdf).)

Shorter version: Roman Polanski went for a ride on the elevator of justice, but all he got was the shaft. Free Roman.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on September 30, 2009 (boomark / email).