Court hearing in Polanski case scheduled Dec 10

LOS ANGELES - A Los Angeles court set a Dec 10 date for a hearing in the case against Franco-Polish filmmaker Roman Polanski, the New York Times said in its online edition Monday.

Polanski, 76, was arrested in Zurich Sep 26, based on a US warrant issued in 1978 stemming from Polanski’s admission to having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl in California in 1977.

Polanski fled the US after spending 42 days in prison for psychiatric tests and has never been sentenced.

In the December hearing, Polanski’s lawyers are to appeal a Superior Court decision from May, which rejected Polanski’s request to close the case against him owing to legal flaws in the 1978 proceedings. The court argued that Polanski had to argue his case personally.

The US requested his extradition two weeks ago. Polanski is expected to fight the extradition.