O/T Former prosecutor says he lied about Polanski case

[stevo]

Former prosecutor says he lied about Polanski case
Oct. 1, 2009, 7:31 AM EST

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A former prosecutor says he made up a story he told a film crew about advising a judge handling Roman Polanski's sex case to send the director to prison.

In "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," David F. Wells is depicted as conferring with a trial judge more than 30 years ago about Polanski's case. Wells said in the documentary that the judge took his advice in deciding to renege on a plea bargain and give Polanski additional prison time.

"I made that up to make the stuff look better," Wells said.

He also said he overstated his actions after being told the film would air in France, not the United States. The film aired on HBO.

Wells' statement on the documentary later became part of the basis for a move by Polanski's attorneys to dismiss the case against the fugitive director, who was arrested in Switzerland on Saturday.

In France, several government officials who had initially rushed to Polanski's defense were being more cautious on Thursday, stressing that the renowned filmmaker is not above the law.

More: Support for Polanski Strengthens ... as Does the Backlash

Wells, who retired more than two years ago, did not handle Polanski's case but was assigned to the courtroom where it was heard and had frequent interactions with the now-deceased trial judge Laurence J. Rittenband.

"They interviewed me in the Malibu courthouse when I was still a DA, and I embellished a story," Wells said about the film crew in an interview with The Associated Press Wednesday. "I'm a guy who cuts to the chase — I lied. It embarrasses the hell of me."

Wells said he was sorry about making the comments for the documentary.

"I cost the DA's office a lot of money and aggravation over this," Wells said.

Polanski was accused of plying a 13-year-old girl with champagne and part of a Quaalude during a modeling shoot in 1977 and raping her. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy.

He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse; in exchange, the remaining charges were dropped, and the judge agreed to send Polanski to prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation.

But Polanski was released after 42 days and fled the country for France before sentencing after the judge reportedly told lawyers he planned to add more prison time.

Polanski's attorneys later argued in a motion to dismiss the case that the communications between the judge and Wells were clear misconduct and violated Polanski's constitutional rights.

Bing: Search for more on Roman Polanski

That motion was dismissed because Polanski was a fugitive at the time, though the judge acknowledged "substantial misconduct" in the original case. The matter is now in the hands of an appeals court.

One of Polanski's attorneys, Chad Hummel, declined to comment on Wells' comments. District Attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said the office also had no comment.

Marina Zenovich, who directed the film, did not return a phone message seeking comment.

Wells' admission was first reported in a story by former O.J. Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark on the Web site The Daily Beast.

Polanski's victim, Samantha Geimer, who long ago identified herself, has joined in Polanski's bid for dismissal. She testified at the time that Polanski forced himself on her — which he acknowledged in his guilty plea — but has said she forgives him and wants the ordeal to be over.

Wells said he would testify in court that he lied and has offered to give a sworn declaration to prosecutors about his actions, in case they need it. No one from the district attorney's office has contacted him since he made the offer several months ago, he said.

Wells said he showed Rittenband a copy of a newspaper that pictured Polanski with girls at an Oktoberfest event. Wells said he never talked about potential sentences and the judge would have seen the paper anyway.

Wells said he still believes Polanski should receive a much stiffer sentence.

Meanwhile, French government officials were softening their defense of Polanski.

Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner initially called Polanski's arrest a "bit sinister," while Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand said the filmmaker had been "thrown to the lions."

The reactions sparked a debate in France, and many complained that the government and cultural elites were unfairly rallying behind the director because of his fame and artistic talent.

On Thursday, Kouchner offered slightly more measured comments, saying "no one is above the law," according to an interview with Russia's Ekho Moskvy radio.

French government spokesman Luc Chatel was also quoted in French media saying Polanski must face justice like everyone else.

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Former prosecutor says he lied about Polanski case - MSN Movies News

[James Trout]

Victim more or less says "Leave Polanski alone.".

BBC NEWS | Europe | Polanski victim seeks dismissal

I'm a little surprised by her attitude but one would probably think that after all these years she doesn't want to remember that any of this actually happened.

I can't imagaine Polanski paid her off but y'never know....oh no, sir!

[Lake Monster]

Originally Posted by stevo

"I made that up to make the stuff look better," Wells said.

He also said he overstated his actions after being told the film would air in France, not the United States.

So it's okay to be a lying douchebag as long as the documentary is airing in another country?

Q: What do lawyers use for birth control?
A: Their personalities.

[Mr Falcone]

Polanski was accused of plying a 13-year-old girl with champagne and part of a Quaalude during a modeling shoot in 1977 and raping her. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy.

This Puke should be locked up

[j]

Originally Posted by James Trout

Victim more or less says "Leave Polanski alone.".

BBC NEWS | Europe | Polanski victim seeks dismissal

I'm a little surprised by her attitude but one would probably think that after all these years she doesn't want to remember that any of this actually happened.

I can't imagaine Polanski paid her off but y'never know....oh no, sir!

When that documentary had its premiere in NY she showed up to walk the red carpet and talk to the press. She said it was her way of being in control of the situation.

[howid]

[Mr Falcone]

U.S. court will hear Polanski's appeal on sexual assault case [Updated]
November 3, 2009*|* 8:39 am
The California 2nd District Court of Appeal will hear arguments Dec. 10 on Roman Polanski's efforts to get his sexual assault case dismissed.
Polanski last year asked an L.A. Superior Court judge to dismiss the three-decade-old case, in which the director pleaded guilty to*unlawful sexual intercourse*with a 13-year-old girl at the home of Jack Nicholson. But the judge refused.
Polanski fled the U.S. in 1978, just before he was scheduled to be sentenced. He refused to come to the U.S. to fight for the dismissal of the charges.
Amid the court battle, Polanski was arrested in Switzerland on a warrant related to the sexual assault. He's now in a Zurich prison and is vowing to fight extradition back to L.A., where Swiss authorities said he'd face up to two* years in prison.
Polanski has three times asked for bail, but Swiss authorities have rejected his requests, saying he poses a flight risk.
-- Shelby Grad

[Mr Falcone]

What a puke this clown is



A clergy abuse victim group is calling for a boycott after Gore Vidal called film director Roman Polanski’s 13-year-old rape victim a “hooker.”

“People should express their outrage by refusing to buy any of his books,” said Barbara Dorris of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, calling Vidal a “mean-spirited buffoon.” A boycott wouldn’t hurt Vidal financially, she said, but would “cause anyone else with such callous views to keep his mouth shut and avoid rubbing salt into the already deep wounds of (victims).”

The 83-year-old Vidal recently told The Atlantic magazine he has no sympathy for Samantha Geimer, Polanski’s victim.


“Look, am I going to sit and weep every time a young hooker feels as though she’s being taken advantage of?” said Vidal, a screenwriter and novelist, who ran in the same circles as Polanski in the 1970s. He said the media pushed a false image of Geimer.

Polanski pleaded guilty in 1977 after being indicted for raping the girl. He fled to Europe before he was sentenced. He was arrested in Switzerland in September and faces extradition.

[howid]

gore vidal still kicking around... these go back a ways but he sure had some classic battles with the late william f. buckley:

Vidal vs. Buckley

In 1968, ABC News invited Vidal and William F. Buckley, Jr. to be political analysts of the Republican and Democratic presidential conventions.[53] Verbal and nearly physical combat ensued. After days of mutual bickering, their debates devolved to vitriolic, ad hominem attacks. During discussions of the 1968 Democratic National Convention protests, the men were arguing about Freedom of Speech in regards to American protesters displaying a Viet Cong flag when Vidal told Buckley to "shut up a minute" and, in response to Buckley's reference to "pro-Nazi" protesters, went on to say "As far as I'm concerned, the only sort of pro-Crypto-Nazi I can think of is yourself." The visibly livid Buckley replied, "Now listen, you queer. Stop calling me a crypto-Nazi, or I'll sock you in the goddamn face and you'll stay plastered." After an interruption by anchor and facilitator Howard K. Smith, the men continued to discuss the topic in a less hostile manner.[54]

Later, in 1969, the feud was continued as Buckley further attacked Vidal in the lengthy essay, "On Experiencing Gore Vidal", published in the August 1969 issue of Esquire. The essay is collected in The Governor Listeth, an anthology of Buckley's writings of the time. In a key passage attacking Vidal as an apologist for homosexuality, Buckley wrote, "The man who in his essays proclaims the normalcy of his affliction [i.e., homosexuality], and in his art the desirability of it, is not to be confused with the man who bears his sorrow quietly. The addict is to be pitied and even respected, not the pusher."

Vidal responded in the September 1969 issue of Esquire, variously characterizing Buckley as "anti-black", "anti-semitic", and a "warmonger".[55] The presiding judge in Buckley's subsequent libel suit against Vidal initially concluded that "[t]he court must conclude that Vidal's comments in these paragraphs meet the minimal standard of fair comment. The inferences made by Vidal from Buckley's [earlier editorial] statements cannot be said to be completely unreasonable."[citation needed] However, Vidal also strongly implied that, in 1944, Buckley and unnamed siblings had vandalized a Protestant church in their Sharon, Connecticut, hometown after the pastor's wife had sold a house to a Jewish family. Buckley sued Vidal and Esquire for libel. Vidal counter-claimed for libel against Buckley, citing Buckley's characterization of Vidal's novel Myra Breckinridge as pornography.[citation needed]

The court dismissed Vidal's counter-claim; Buckley settled for $115,000 in attorney's fees and an editorial statement from Esquire magazine that they were "utterly convinced" of the untruthfulness of Vidal's assertion.[56] However, in a letter to Newsweek, the Esquire publisher stated that "the settlement of Buckley's suit against us" was not "a 'disavowal' of Vidal's article. On the contrary, it clearly states that we published that article because we believed that Vidal had a right to assert his opinions, even though we did not share them."

As Vidal's biographer, Fred Kaplan, later commented, "The court had 'not' sustained Buckley's case against Esquire... [t]he court had 'not' ruled that Vidal's article was 'defamatory.' It had ruled that the case would have to go to trial in order to determine as a matter of fact whether or not it was defamatory. [italics original.] The cash value of the settlement with Esquire represented 'only' Buckley's legal expenses [not damages based on libel]... " ultimately, Vidal bore the cost of his own attorney's fees, estimated at $75,000.

In 2003, this affair re-surfaced when Esquire published Esquire's Big Book of Great Writing, an anthology that included Vidal's essay. Buckley again sued for libel, and Esquire again settled for $55,000 in attorney's fees and $10,000 in personal damages to Buckley.[citation needed]

After Buckley's death on February 27, 2008, Vidal summed up his impressions of his rival with the following obituary on March 20, 2008: "RIP WFB—in hell."[57] In a June 15, 2008, interview with the New York Times, Vidal was asked by Deborah Solomon, "How did you feel when you heard that Buckley died this year?" Vidal responded:

I thought hell is bound to be a livelier place, as he joins forever those whom he served in life, applauding their prejudices and fanning their hatred.