ROMAN POLANSKI - COULD DOCUMENTARY OVERTURN POLANSKI CONVICTION?

What Roman Polanski's attorneys call "extraordinary new evidence" unearthed by Marina Zenovich for her documentary about the Polish-born director has spurred the them to file a complaint seeking to have his 1977 sexual-misconduct conviction overturned. In particular, the complaint notes that in the documentary, Roman Polanski Wanted and Desired , former prosecutor David Wells describes his discussions with Judge Lawrence Rittenband about the case during Polanski's trial, something the attorneys claim revea;ed "a pattern of misconduct and improper communications between the Superior Court and the District Attorney's Office, in violation of the rule of law and without the knowledge of the defendant or his counsel." Polanski, the director of such films as Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby , fled the U.S. to France, where he was a citizen, after being convicted of having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

03/12/2008