Roman Polanski Documentary Sparks Fight Over History Of Secret Deal

Posted by Eriq Gardner

Did a 1997 deal to bring Roman Polanski back to the U.S. without any jail time fall apart over the court's insistence that the sentencing be televised?

The HBO documentary, "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," reported a secret deal between the attorneys and judge in the case. The public information office at the Los Angeles County Superior Court was not amused, saying in a statement that the "assertion concerning televising of the sentencing hearing is a complete fabrication, entirely without any basis in fact and completely unsupported by the court record."

But now, Polanski's attorney Doug Dalton and prosecutor Roger Gunson have issued a joint statement rebuking the LA County Superior Court's statement as "false and reprehensible."

According to the two, "Judge Fidler advised Mr. Dalton that if Mr. Polanski returned to Los Angeles, that he, Judge Fidler, would allow Mr. Polanski to be booked and immediately released on bail, require Mr. Polanski to meet with the probation department, order a probation report, conduct a hearing, and terminate probation without Mr. Polanski having to serve any additional time in custody."

But Dalton says he wanted minimum media coverage, and Judge Fidler demanded TV cameras.

Someone doesn't have their facts straight.