District Attorney Wants To Dismiss Polanski Appeal

The Los Angeles district attorney says Roman Polanski's appeal filed in California before his arrest in Switzerland should be dismissed and no oral arguments should be held.

The request was made in reply to a letter from Polanski's lawyers to an appeals court early this week asking for expedited oral arguments. They contended that the U.S. Department of Justice should not seek to extradite Polanski from Switzerland because he has already fully served his sentence for having unlawful sex with a teen-ager in 1977.

Prosecutors said that the sole issue before the court was whether to hold a hearing without Polanski present on his request to dismiss charges. Now that he is under arrest and the subject of an extradition warrant, they said the issue is moot.

Polanski, 75, was arrested last month in Switzerland. He fled to Euope after he pleaded guilty in 1977 to unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl.