California court rejects Polanski bid to throw out case

LOS ANGELES - A California appeals court Monday rejected a bid by lawyers for Roman Polanski to have his child-sex case thrown out on the grounds of judicial and prosecutorial misconduct.

The unanimous ruling by the three judge panel said a lower court did not err when it ruled earlier in the year that Polanski must surrender to US authorities before pursuing his misconduct claims.

The ruling did however call for an investigation into the claims, which focused on allegedly illegal contact between prosecutors and the judge in the case 30 years ago in which Polanski pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a 13-year-old. The famed director of “Chinatown” fled the US before his sentencing fearing that the judge would impose a stiff sentence rather than the 42 days he had already served in jail.

Polanski, now 77, is currently under house arrest in Gstaad, Switzerland as he waits for authorities there to decide on an extradition request by the US.