CNN.com’s leads with a story about harmful the media scrutiny has been to Roman Polanski’s victim and how she would like the case to simply go away and stop interrupting her life. Hopefully the irony of plastering a rape victim’s picture all over their front page in conjunction with a story about how media attention causes that victim’s old wounds to reopen is not lost on CNN. The headline is “Victim: Courts did more harm than Polanski.” But rather than talking about the problems of leaving the implication that rape prosecution is a bigger problem than rape unchallenged, I want to talk about legal process.
A lot of people, mostly in the entertainment world, are claiming that Polanski’s case was barred by some sort of legal impropriety that somehow excuses his fleeing the country. Don’t be fooled. Here’s what happened, as best as I can piece together:
Rape cases with young victims are senstive. This one was particularly sensitive because Polanski was famous, and the predictable media circus formed. The victim was accused of “seducing” Polanski. And the longer the case drags on, the worse it will be for the victim. The prosecutor, perhaps for the sake of the victim, wanted a quick resolution to the case. So he offered Polanski a sweetheart deal. He would plead guilty to a single count of unlawful sex with a minor. The prosecutor would recommend he be given credit for time served, and be placed on probation.
The proseuctor’s recommendation is not binding on the judge. The judge perhaps looked at a man, due indirectly to his celebrity, was being slapped on the wrist for drugging, raping, and sodomizing a thirteen-year-old. It was a serious crime and perhaps the judge signalled an inclination to hand down a serious sentence. Rather than risking a sentence befitting his crime, Polanski fled.
Two more details. First, in criminal cases, the prosecutor is the state, not the victim. You don’t get to avoid prosecution for serious crimes if you have a particularly forgiving or reticent victim, although a prosecutor might consider that when deciding whether to pursue a case and a judge might consider it during sentencing. (Similarly, you can’t pay off your victim in a civil case to avoid a criminal case). Second, if you think there has been judicial or prosecutorial misconduct, you have a recourse. We have a lengthy appeals process. Polanski isn’t a victim of the court. He didn’t fight to clear his name. He just decided he shouldn’t be subject to the law.
4
