Since Roman Polanksi was arrested in Switzerland two weeks ago, the airwaves, print pages, and blogosphere have been inundated with people voicing either their pleas for Polanski's release or stating their disgust at his crime and satisfaction that he might wind up behind bars. Though this is a criminal defense blog, we feel the need to add to the chorus voicing support for Polanski's extradition.
You're probably familiar with the details, but here is a brief summary. In 1977, Polanski was arrested in Los Angeles for plying a 13 year-old girl with alcohol and drugs and then raping her. He agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of unlawful intercourse with a minor and was given a 42-day jail sentence, to be served after completing a film under production at the time. After finishing the project, though, he promptly skipped off to France, where he has citizenship, and remained free for the next 32 years. He was arrest when he traveled to Switzerland to receive a lifetime achievement award at a film festival.
To us, the issue is simple and rests on the constitutional guarantee of equal treatment under the law. Just as the poor, marginalized, and powerless of our society should not be deprived of their constitutional protections when faced with criminal charges, the wealthy, famous, politically powerful, and social elite should not be granted preferential treatment.
A number of entertainment industry titans have said that Polanski should be set free because - pick one - the incident was a "mistake" that happened a long time ago, it wasn't actually a rape, attendees at film festivals should be free from the threat of arrest, and artistic talent trumps culpability for criminal acts.
We are not persuaded. Equal treatment under the law means just that. Everyone gets treated the same. The most disadvantaged person in our society must have the same privileges and immunities as the most powerful. Polanski pled guilty. He needs to face the consequences. End of story.
