A judge in Los Angeles has refused to grant the latest request by fugitive film director Roman Polanski to return to the United States without fear of jail or prison.
L.A. Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon issued a 13-page ruling Monday that denied Polanski's proposal to clear a jail sentence promised in a 1977 plea bargain, by giving Polanski credit for days he spent in custody or house arrest overseas -- while fighting extradition to the U.S.
Polanski's defense attorney, Harland Braun, ask the judge to rule the director had, "already done his time," and clear an international arrest warrant.
Polanski pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl and served a few weeks in jail.
He fled to Europe in 1978 after Braun said the original judge threatened to back out of the plea agreement and sentence Polanski to decades in state prison.
Braun has also asked Judge Gordon to unseal the testimony of the original prosecutor. Braun has said he believes the testimony will verify Polanski's claims about the promised sentence.
A hearing has been set on that issue for later this month.
-- Eric Leonard (@LeonardFiles)