The Roman Polanski Extradition Case: Legal and Ethical Issues
This paper examines the Roman Polanski extradition case, tracing the events of March 1977 when Polanski was charged with multiple felonies—including the rape of a 13-year-old girl—after which he pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. The paper outlines how Polanski fled the United States before sentencing, sought refuge in France and other non-extraditing countries, and faced subsequent extradition requests in Switzerland (2009) and Poland (2015). It concludes with a normative argument that Polanski should be extradited and sentenced, on the grounds that his wealth and foreign citizenship should not allow him to evade lawful punishment for a serious felony to which he already admitted guilt.
- Introduction: Overview of Polanski case background
- The 1977 Incident and Criminal Charges: Details of assault, testimony, and charges filed
- Plea Bargain and Flight from Justice: Guilty plea, imprisonment, and escape abroad
- International Extradition Efforts: France, Switzerland, and Poland extradition attempts
- The Case for Extradition: Argument that Polanski must face sentencing
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper builds a clear chronological narrative of the case, moving from the 1977 incident through successive extradition attempts, which gives readers essential factual grounding before the normative argument is presented.
- It draws on a variety of source types—a book-length account, legal codes, newspaper reporting, and an explanatory journalism piece—lending credibility to both the factual and legal dimensions of the argument.
- The concluding argument is direct and explicitly tied to rule-of-law principles, making the paper's thesis easy to identify and evaluate.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of factual exposition to support a normative claim. By establishing undisputed facts first—charges filed, guilty plea entered, flight from jurisdiction—the author removes the burden of proving guilt and focuses the argument on the legal and ethical obligation to enforce an existing conviction. This technique, grounding a policy argument in established legal record rather than contested facts, is a useful model for persuasive legal writing.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a detailed account of the 1977 incident and Geimer's grand jury testimony, then covers the plea bargain and Polanski's subsequent flight. A middle section surveys extradition attempts in France, Switzerland, and Poland. The final section presents the normative argument that Polanski should be extradited, addressing counterarguments about the passage of time and the victim's personal resolution before concluding that allowing Polanski to remain free undermines the credibility of the U.S. legal system.
Introduction
The extradition case regarding film director Roman Polanski is a rather sordid affair. According to information available, on March 10, 1977, the 43-year-old Polanski had a sexual encounter with a 13-year-old girl named Samantha Jane Gailey (now known as Samantha Geimer; Schwarzbaum, 2013). According to testimony Geimer provided to a grand jury, Polanski had obtained permission from her mother to photograph her for a spread in Vogue magazine.
The 1977 Incident and Criminal Charges
According to the reports, the photography session took place at the home of actor Jack Nicholson, who was on vacation at the time. Nicholson's then-girlfriend, Anjelica Huston, was present but did not witness the incident, although she was concerned and knocked on the bedroom door several times in an effort to find out what was happening (Schwarzbaum, 2013).
According to Geimer's testimony, Polanski photographed her drinking champagne while topless. He also reportedly gave her a Quaalude and then performed vaginal, oral, and anal sexual acts on her (Schwarzbaum, 2013). Geimer reported that she resisted and told him she did not want to have sex with him; however, Polanski later claimed that the sex was consensual and that he did not drug her (Schwarzbaum, 2013).
Numerous charges were filed, including forcible rape and furnishing a controlled substance to a child. However, Geimer's attorney arranged a plea bargain in order to spare her from testifying in court, and Polanski pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor — a felony, as California law classifies an adult having sex with anyone under the age of 14 as statutory rape (Schwarzbaum, 2013).
Plea Bargain and Flight from Justice
Polanski accepted the plea bargain and spent 42 days in a California state prison undergoing a psychiatric evaluation. He was released afterward to finish a film he was working on and to await sentencing.
Polanski initially believed he would receive probation; however, he later learned that the judge was considering sentencing him to prison and deportation. Once released from custody, Polanski fled to London and then to France to avoid extradition. As a French citizen, he benefited from France's policy of not extraditing its own nationals (Legifrance, 2005), and requests by United States officials for his extradition were denied.
References
Day, M. (2015, May 22). Roman Polanski U.S. extradition case adjourned by Polish court. The Telegraph. Retrieved July 9, 2015 from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/roman-polanski/11622582/Roman-Polanski-due-to-appear-in-Polish-court-over-U.S.-extradition.html
Legifrance (2005). Code of criminal procedure (legislative part), Articles 696-1 to 696-7. Retrieved July 8, 2015 from
Palmer, B. (2009, September 28). What's "unlawful sexual intercourse"? Slate. Retrieved July 9, 2015 from http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2009/09/whats_unlawful_sexual_intercourse.html
Schwarzbaum, L. (2013). The girl: A life in the shadow of Roman Polanski. New York: Atria.
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