Despite Switzerland’s ruling this morning that the country will not be extraditing Roman Polanski to the U.S., L.A.’s district attorney seems undeterred in his pursuit of the filmmaker. D.A. Steve Cooley called the decision “a disservice to justice and other victims as a whole,” and said he’ll look to get Polanski back on American soil if the director is caught by a country willing to cooperate.
“We will discuss with the Department of Justice the extradition of Roman Polanski if he’s arrested in a cooperative jurisdiction,” said Cooley. “To justify their finding to deny extradition on an issue that is unique to California law regarding conditional examination of a potentially unavailable witness is a rejection of the competency of the California courts. The Swiss could not have found a smaller hook on which to hang their hat.”
Meanwhile, Obama reportedly wasn’t pleased with the ruling, either. According to the AP, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said, “The United States believes that the rape of a 13-year-old child by an adult is a crime, and we continue to pursue justice in this case.”
Roman Polanski Decision Blasted By L.A. District Attorney [MTV]
