Should Lindsay Lohan Pull a Polanski?
A judge in L.A. today issued a warrant for Lindsay Lohan's arrest when the starlet failed to show for a mandatory "DUI progress-report hearing." By now Lohan's excuse is relatively well-known: She was visiting Cannes and, er, her passport was stolen. Her team says she's spent the last few days working with the State Department to get a replacement (the U.S. Embassy in France denies this), while French authorities say she never even reported the original stolen in the first place. As a result of the warrant, says the U.S. Customs Agency, Lohan will be arrested when attempting to reenter the country. Which of course raises the question: Why even bother coming home?
After all, I think we all know the precedent here for celebrity fugitives. Taking after Roman Polanski, Lohan could settle in France for a while, restoring herself and her career away from the bad influences and ghosts of the States -- and out of reach of the authorities. The obvious catch here is Lohan's U.S. citizenship -- France refused to extradite Polanski for three decades because they don't ship off their own citizens. There's also the universal awareness that the 23-year old isn't exactly a shimmering beacons of talent, class and grace (at least not any more) you want hanging around your country indefinitely. In any language, "La Lohan" is synonymous with "pitiful trainwreck."
But! If France gave Lohan some sort of amnesty -- or even a dual citizenship -- we might conceivably have a situation where America and France have something that the other wants. Sure, Roman Polanski for Lindsay Lohan may not look like a fair trade on paper. But what kind of statement would it send if the Los Angeles D.A. left an actual American fugitive to live conditionally free in Paris while attempting to extradite a 76-year-old French citizen who'll probably get off anyway? Who really needs the "lesson" here? By all appearances, Lindsay Lohan is a party girl who thinks she can get away with driving drunk and standing up judges. Roman Polanski is a child rapist who did jail time and whose own victim wants him left alone. (And yes, who also thinks he can get away with standing up judges.)
Anyway, you can see why I never went into international diplomacy. Still, if France really wants its fugitive son back sooner than later, I can think of lesser reasons to roll out a lonnnng welcome mat for its new guest.
· Judge Issues Warrant for Lindsay Lohan's Arrest [PopEater]
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Comments
She should move to the Ukraine. Maybe she could reverse the trend of Eastern European prostitutes being smuggled to America.
All I know is that the judge will rescind the warrant the day I get the "Run Lindsay Run" t-shirts back from the printers.
Pulling a Polanski is not an option for her because she is not a French citizen. France only refuses to extradite its' own citizens. And I can't think of anywhere else she could go that would not extradite her. Besides, she's still not in THAT much trouble.
I was interested in this article until you started belittling Polanksi's sex crimes. Now I just think you're a dick.
There goes her Linda Lovelace bio-pic...
How will sexually assaulting an under-aged girl help Lohan? Pulling a Polanski didn't help Polanski.
Thanks for the careful read, Vernon.
Um, I did nothing of the kind? I said he served time, and his victim forgave him. Not much dickish about facts. Read this, then come back and apologize.
You are so welcome S.T. VANAIRSDLE. But it was not a careful read. I only read the headline and did not realize he was being sarcastic before I responded. In any case, I do not consider child rape to be an appropriate occasion for sarcasm.
Hey Vernon, take it easy. If you had read the article before commenting, you wouldn't have repeated the point that Vanairsdale, the post's author, made about extradition.
She could go to Venezuela...
Okay now her life is turning into Marie Antoinette's! This is getting weird.
Hi S.T. Lindsey's a train wreak, the public loves a celebrity train wreak, especially a young, attractive female celebrity train wreak. That's why you're writing about her. That's why we're reading about her. It's copacetic for you. It's vicariously copacetic for the public. We're all in synergistic harmony, except Lindsay, whose party-to-the-max lifestyle will soon be ended by litigious reality. Basically, she's screwed. And we'll love reading about that as well. Wish you happy writing S.T.
Well, that's... nice! Thanks!
No, she actually said she was visiting the CAN and her PASS SNORT was stolen.
"Vicariously copacetic"? Before you try to sound smarter than your cellmate, try using a dictionary, Michael Lohan.
This is a case where we have a criminal who is a French citizen and a victim who is an American citizen.
This raises issues of conflicting jurisdictions and there is no reason to automatically give precedence to US law in the matter.
The crime was committed on US soil; the criminal should have been tried in the US, but he wasn't. There was no finding of facts, no jury trial, no verdict.
Plea bargaining is unlawful under French Law. It is considered a coerced confession. Therefore Polanski's "guilty" plea (presumably motivated by the offer of a reduced sentence) has no legal value and is inadmissible under French Law.
As a French citizen, Polanski had the inalienable right of being tried in France. France punishes crimes committed by its citizens abroad. In this specific case, if sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old had been established beyond reasonable doubt, Polanski would have faced a minimum of 5 years in jail in France.
Polanski, who had voluntarily returned to the US for sentencing, chose to go home when the unlawful contract which he had entered into with the State of California was violated by the State. He is therefore not a fugitive in the eyes of French justice.
He is not guilty of anything, since there was no trial, no verdict, and criminal charges were never filed in France. The State of California, or the victim, had 10 years to file criminal charges in France. After that the statutes of limitation run out.
The victim chose to settle. By refusing to file criminal charges, the State of California has in effect relinquished all rights to try Mr Polanski (which it should have done in the first place).
If there is a miscarriage of justice in this matter, the blame lies entirely on the State of California.
If we're lucky, she'll be sent to the guillotine, like Marie Antoinette.
Pull a Polanski? Does this article mean she should drug and rape a minor? Or does it mean she should do the above action, get convicted of doing the above action, and then flee justice right before sentencing?
Wow, I hadn't thought of it like that. Thanks for bringing the nuance!
Wow, I hadn't thought of it like that. Thanks for bringing the nuance!
It's not a nuance. That's precisely what Polanski did. And now he (and many of those in Hollywood) whine about persecution. It's not persecution when you're found guilty of raping a child and then bloody well using wanker lawyer tricks to avoid serving time.
Did some people on this post just missed the boat on this article. It was all tongue and check. As Sweetbiscuit said..take it easy folks.
Why on earth are you advocating an illegal activity, even in jest? (BTW, the humour is reeeeally subtle)
Polanski has not served his time. If he's served the equivalent of his time for the drugging & sodomy rape of a minor, you don't just wave a magic wand (or your hand) & make it so; a judge must declare it so.
Not to mention his outstanding debt to society for fleeing the country.
Everything Polanski can remain silent no longer about are things the authorities in question are within their rights to do.
It's time for the brilliant filmmaker to pay up; his debt is long past due.
The idiot who wrote this needs to get his facts straight. Roman Polanski never did jail time. He plead guilty but fled the country before he was sentenced. Also, the only reason the victims' family want this to be over is because it is a horrible memory that they just as soon choose not to relive. And luckily since Polanski plead guilty they don't have to. Just extradite the bastard and throw in jail for the rest of his adult life.
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