Roman Polanski: Wants case moved from L.A.

Roman Polanski: Wants case moved from L.A.

A lawyer for Roman Polanski is seeking removal of his case to the California Judicial Council for resolution, accusing the Los Angeles Superior Court of bias and prejudice against the movie director.

Academy Award-winning and four-time nominated Polish-French film director, writer, actor and producer Roman Polanski has been a fugitive for 30 years in a decades-old charge of unlawful intercourse with a 13 year old girl. He filed a request last month to dismiss the charge against him on grounds of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct.

In a motion filed on Monday, attorney Chad Hummel has claimed that statements by a court spokesman since the original motion was filed showed that the courts have prejudged at least one issue — whether Polanski must appear in court on January 21 for his request to be considered. Such an appearance might make him subject to arrest.

Monday's motion claimed that the court and the Los Angeles County district attorney's office have attempted to avoid scrutiny of alleged misconduct during Roman Polanski's original case.

Attorneys Chad S. Hummel and Bart Dalton wrote, "There is no question that a reasonable person would entertain doubts concerning the court's ability to be impartial here".

The 75 year old Roman Polanski has been living in self-imposed exile since fleeing the United States in 1978 after admitting he had sex with a girl he hired as a model for a photo shoot. Polanski, who had already been incarcerated for a psychological diagnosis for 42 days, had been scheduled to be sentenced and sent back to prison. The judge issued a warrant for his arrest that is still in effect.

Sandi Gibbons, district attorney's spokeswoman said that the office would file a response to the motion for dismissal on Tuesday.

A hearing on the matter is scheduled for January 21 in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Roman Polanski, the director of "Chinatown" and "Rosemary's Baby", has continued to direct films while in exile, including the 2002 Holocaust drama "The Pianist", for which he won the best-director Academy Award.