Polanski Attorneys Lobby Obama Justice Department Against Extradition

Attorneys for Roman Polanski met with Justice Department officials and presented arguments against extraditing the jailed director from Switzerland, where he is being held, to Los Angeles to face sentencing for his 1977 criminal case.

Polanski’s lawyers recently sought help from Obama administration officials in the Justice Department requesting that they not return the filmmaker to America, according to court documents filed in L.A.

Members of the director’s legal team met with a deputy assistant attorney general and other Justice Department officials on Oct. 2, according to the appellate court filing.

Lawyers presented arguments in opposition to moving the director back to the states to face sentencing, as evidenced in a letter attached to the filing by the L.A. District Attorney’s office.

The lawyer letter expresses gratitude for the meeting to Bruce Swartz, who oversees the department's Office of International Affairs.

The 10-page document was part of a filing in which prosecutors seek a dismissal of Polanski’s appeal “as moot.”

Polanski’s lawyers had filed the appeal prior to their client’s Switzerland arrest. It contained a summary of allegations of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct in the case, laying the groundwork for Polanski’s appeal.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office is preparing a formal request for Polanski’s extradition.

However, the lobbying of the feds will have no impact on that effort.

James Hirsen, J.D., M.A. in media psychology, is a New York Times best-selling author, commentator, media analyst, and law professor. He is the co-founder and chief legal counsel for InternationalEsq.com. Visit Newsmax TV Hollywood.