JD Journal » roman polanski

Morning Roundup

joshua — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:10:17 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Tuesday, July 13th. Here’s a quick recap of yesterday’s stories.

Thompson Hine added to its Executive Committee…

International firm Howrey is set to open a new office in Duesseldorf, Germany…

Despite law firm cuts, report showed an increase in law school applications…

Seyfarth Shaw LLP added patent attorney Alan M. Lenkin to its practice…

Snell & Wilmer added former Holland & Hart partner Daniel R. Frost to its construction practice…

Greenberg Traurig President Matthew B. Gorson was elected to serve on the Executive Committee of United Way…

Switzerland declined the United States’ request for extradition of Roman Polanski…

The National Law Journal released its 2010 “Hot List” of midsize law firms in the U.S….

Disney wiill pay “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” creator Celador nearly $270 mMillion in damages…

Roman Polanski Will Not Be Extradited

joshua — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:58:41 +0000

Switzerland has declined the United States’ request for extradition of Roman Polanski and the director is once again a free man. According to Swiss authorities the decision, which was widely expected to go the other way, was based on American officials unwillingness or inability to adequately address the issue of whether or not Polanski had already served his sentence. Switzerland also took notice of the fact that the United States has not made any attempt to arrest and extradite Polanski in past trips to Switzerland, even though he owns a house there, and that the victim in the case has publicly asked for the prosecution to be dropped. This decision can not be appealed by the US and will likely mean that Polanski will never return to America to stand trial.

We first reportedon Polanki’s arrest back in September.

Roman Polanski Loses Appeal in California

joshua — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 22:10:37 +0000

Lawyers for the once fugitive and recently apprehended film director Roman Polanski argued before the California Court of Appeal that the lower court erred in throwing out Polanski’s case last month. The lower court held that Polanski could not make his appeal without first surrendering to the authorities and appearing in court. The 2nd District Court of Appeal upheld the decision. Polanski’s only chance to clear his name now rests with appearing before the court in California and resubmitting the appeal.

Although the court refused to consider the appeal while Polanski remains in Switzerland, the 3 judge panel said the allegations raised in the case were serious and urged prosecutors to investigate and respond to the claims.

For the moment he remains in Switzerland, awaiting the outcome of extradition hearings.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:30:41 +0000

Good morning one and all! It’s Friday, November 27, and now that the triptophan has hopefully worn off, here’s a look at wednesday’s headlines.

Scott Rothstein has been officialy disbarred…

Debevoise & Plimpton announced their bonus schedules…

And so did Davis Polk…

and in Switzerland, film director Roman Polanski has been granted bail…

Roman Polanski Granted Bail

joshua — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:04:26 +0000

Director Roman Polanski, who is being held in a Swiss jail pending extradition to the United States, has been granted bail, but has not yet been released. The Swiss government has 10 days to appeal the decision.

Once finalized, Polanski will pay $4.5 million in bail and be confined to his estate in Switzerland where he will be monitored by an electronic bracelet. Although the Swiss government can appeal the decision, the Minister of Justice says he sees no reason to appeal the award of bail and the court reports that no appeal has been filed.

For more about the case, see our earlier posts here and here.

Roman Polanski Bail Request Denied

joshua — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 03:51:32 +0000

The Swiss court overseeing Roman Polanski’s case has denied bail pending an extradition hearing. The court is concerned that if released, Polanski might be a flight risk. I’m just guessing here, but the fact that Polanski holds dual French and Polish citizenship and his original exodus from the US might have been on their minds. Polanski is allowed to make a new bail proposal, and the court is considering ideas including house arrest with electronic monitoring.

The United States has until the end of November to make a firm extradition request, and US officials say that if Polanski challenges the proceedings, it could take years to resolve.

Jumping on the Polanski Bandwagon

joshua — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:05:34 +0000

Earthquakes, a tsunami, and a 32 year old sex scandal involving a Hollywood icon. This is the very definition of a slow news day for us – nobody wants to talk about lateral moves and layoffs this week. However, two tidbits of interest have popped up about the Polanski story that may interest our loyal readers.

Polanski has hired Reid Weingarten as part of his defense team. Weingarten, who is a partner at Steptoe and Johnson, is close friends with Attorney General Eric Holder and his addition to Polanski’s legal team may indicate the beginning of an effort to fight the extradition by challenging it here in the states as well as overseas.

More interesting is a report from the LA Times today claiming that advocacy on Polanski’s behalf by his current legal team from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, spearheaded by Chad Hummel, may be what pushed the LA District Attorney to aggressively seek Polanski’s arrest. In July of this year, Manatt Phelps tried to get the case against Polanski dismissed and buried in those motions was the claim that the prosecution had never tried to have Polanski extradited. That claim has been denied, but the LA Times posits that it may be what spurred the DA in to action.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:25:59 +0000

Good morning one and all! For what seems like the 100th day in a row, the biggest story in the blawgosphere yesterday was Roman Polanski. If you haven’t been following it, you can read about it here…

Meanwhile, on the business end of the law, things were a bit slower. We do have the following stories for you from yesterday….

Patton Boggs adds a former FCC Chariman to its roster…

Cohen Milstein starts a public client practice with the help of a former DC Attorney General…

and the FTC stopped taking applications from attorneys ahead of the scheduled deadline…