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Roman Polanski: Judge turns down a bid to dismiss sex case
A Los Angeles judge on Thuresday has dismissed a bid by Roman Polanski to dismiss a 31 year old sex case against the fugitive director after he failed to appear in court.
The judge said that Polanski's lawyer informed him the director doesn't intend to submit himself to the jurisdiction of the court.
The judge also said that he would not consider the case unless Polanski, who fled the United States for France after pleading guilty to rape, showed up in his court.
The 75 year old Polanski's lawyers have made it clear this week that the Oscar-winning director would not return to the United States to appear in the court because he would be immediately arrested.
The lawyers of Polanski have said that they are going to appeal Espinoza's ruling on constitutional grounds, alleging that misconduct by the original prosecutors and the judge have deprived Polanski of his right to a fair hearing.
Roman Polanski pleaded guilty in 1977 to unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13 year old girl and then fled to France.
Polanski was one of the most respected film directors in Hollywood in the late 1960s and 70s and won sympathy when his pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered in their Los Angeles home in 1969 by followers of Charles Manson.
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