"Sinister" about sums it up, imo.

Polanski's original sentence was 90 days of which he had served 42 says, so unless the DA could prove otherwise, which they failed to do, there was no other possible outcome.

I have to add my usual statement that Polanski being a French citizen, he was perfectly within his rights to leave an obviously untrustworthy jurisdiction and return to his own country.

Had the case been deemed morally or legally important, it would have been easy for the victim or the DA to file a criminal complaint in France. Under the French penal code, evidence of unlawful sex with a 13-year-old would have resulted in a mandatory sentence of no less than 5 years.

And what he was charged originally with (and what really happened) are completely different things things. Anyone else who did what he did,

Well clearly you always believe that the charges by the government are what the defendant actually did. Good to see that you are finally committing your principal to ink. Never a need for a trial that way, big money saver, if you do not count the long prison sentences, that is.

If the prosecutor did not have approval then he should be charged with obstruction of justice.  If he did have approval of the judge, but the judge was later swayed by public opinion (as to perhaps he not getting re-elected) and, thus, changed his mind, then the judge needed to be charged with obstruction of justice and give back his robes.

And, as a result of all this, a guilty person has left town, and then millions of taxpayers money is spent in trying to get him back - with no consequences to the prosecution or the judge - something just isn't right!

The Swiss Minister went so far as to call the extradition request "sinister."

the issue is mr. polanski's "fugitive from justice" status, under US law. the swiss request itself was irrelevant to the actual issue, and it isn't really up to the swiss to decide whether or not US law is being enforced correctly, per our extradition treaty with them.

The Swiss government's main argument concerned confidential testimony by Roger Gunson, the Los Angeles attorney in charge of the original prosecution against Polanski. The Swiss asked for the transcript, but Washington rejected the request.

Based on references to Gunson's testimony in U.S. courts, the Swiss said it "should prove" that Polanski served his sentence after undergoing the diagnostic study.

Considering that the US has been mum on this fact, and that the Gunson testimony could show that Polanski served his sentence and would not be sentenced to additional time, the Swiss decided that the LA County Court is not being an honest broker.

Article 2 provides that an offense is extraditable if it is punish- able by both parties by deprivation of liberty for more than one year. Extradition shall be granted only if the duration of the pen- alty or detention order, or their aggregate, still to be served, amounts to at least six months.

LOS ANGELES -- The woman who was the teenage victim in the Roman Polanski sex case says he is not a threat to anyone and charges should be dismissed.

Samantha Geimer, who long ago identified herself, told the Los Angeles Times in a story posted Tuesday that the case should have been resolved 33 years ago when it happened.

"Enough is enough," she said of the continuing efforts to prosecute Polanski. She was barred from talking about her civil suit settlement with the director but said it didn't influence her views. "I've felt this way from the beginning."

Polanski pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with her in a plea bargain that has been the subject of controversy. Swiss authorities refused to extradite the Oscar-winning director to the United States on Monday.