The director will not film in the UK to avoid being extradited. Roman Polanski's request that a 1977 rape case against him is dismissed has been denied by a US judge because the film director is still a fugitive. Judge Peter Espinoza agreed there was misconduct by the judge in the original case, but said Mr Polanski must return to the US to apply for dismissal. Mr Polanski fled to France in 1978 before he could be sentenced for having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl. A further hearing on 7 May will give Mr Polanski the chance to appear in court. The judge asked to be forewarned if the director was planning to appear on that date so that the court had time to arrange security. The case has drawn a high level of media attention. Cruel joke Mr Polanski has previously said he had no plans to return to the US. If he returns the likelihood is that he faces arrest on a fugitive warrant. The director put in his request to have the conviction dismissed after a documentary about him, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, uncovered new facts about the case. The film suggested that the judge who heard the original case, who has since died, agreed a plea bargain with the director but then went back on the deal after intervention by the prosecution. Judge Espinoza watched the documentary and said he thought there had been "substantial misconduct", but that the Oscar-winning director was not entitled to challenge the ruling while on the run. The girl in the original case, Samantha Geimer, is now 45. She has previously said that asking Mr Polanski to appear in person would be a "cruel joke." A lawyer acting on her behalf said in court: "The time has come for this case to end."
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On Monday, Swiss authorities refused a request from the U.S. to extradite Polish film director , who has been under house arrest in his chalet in Switzerland since December 2009, on charges stemming from the 1977 accusation that he had sex with an American thirteen-year-old girl, Samantha Geimer, in , California. Though the film director pled guilty to rape and unlawful sexual intercourse, he fled to  before he could be sentenced. 

A top  official, Lanny Breuer, has said that he is "deeply disappointed" with the Swiss decision, and that the U.S. request that Polanski be sent to the United States was completely supported by treaty, facts and the law. Also,  spokesman  P.J. Crowley said "The rape of a 13-year-old girl by an adult who should know better, and that does know better, is a crime. We will continue to seek justice in this case, and we will evaluate our options."
 
Breuer also stated that the U.S. government will review its options. However, Switzerland has said no appeal to its decision was possible. Polanski was arrested last September by Swiss police when he arrived in  to receive a lifetime career award at a film festival. The Swiss were acting on a request from the U.S. government.

The  based its decision on the fact that it was unable to determine whether Polanski had already served the full sentence for his crime. This was due to the  in May ruling that the records of the closed-door 1977 hearings had to remain secret. The Swiss Justice Ministry said U.S. officials should have backed up their request by providing confidential testimony about Polanski's 1977 sentencing procedure in Los Angeles. In past hearings, Polanski's lawyers argued that there were irregularities in the original handling of the case, and U.S. judge Peter Espinoza agreed there was misconduct by the original judge.