Roman Polanski 'has no plans to return to US,' says lawyer

London, Jan 15 (ANI): Roman Polanski's lawyer has revealed that he has no intentions to return to the United States, and that the director wanted the 1977 rape charges against him to be lifted just because he would like to "leave a legacy of justice,".

Attorney Chad Hummel said that 'The Pianist' director had "no plans ever to return" to America, but he wanted his case to be considered by an independent judge to ensure that legal system "misconduct" did not go unpunished.

However, they added that the 75-year-old filmmaker did not have to appear in a Los Angeles court.

Polanski fled to France in 1978 to avoid facing a prison sentence after pleading guilty to having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl.

"Mr Polanski has no plans ever to return to the United States. But the course of what happens here will have an enduring legacy for the justice system," the BBC quoted Hummel as saying in the documents, filed with the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The director's team's bid for justice is based on a recent documentary about the case- 'Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired', which they say revealed that "judicial and prosecutorial misconduct... so distorted the legal process that the interests of justice can only be served with complete dismissal of the case".

Hummel claimed that the documentary revealed "a pattern of misconduct and improper communications" between the district attorney's office and the judge in the case.

A hearing on the motion is scheduled on January 21, but prosecutors insist that the director must attend in person, thereby risking arrest. (ANI)