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Lawyers Say Roman Polanski Should Come Back To LA A Free Man

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — A Los Angeles judge says he will issue a written ruling about director Roman Polanski's requests to end his long-running sex abuse case.

Polanski's attorney, Harland Braun, argued Monday that Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon should give some indication of how Polanski would be sentenced if he returned to Los Angeles.

The Oscar winner remains a fugitive after he pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl and then fled on the eve of sentencing in 1989.

A prosecutor argued that Polanski is asking for special treatment and trying to dictate the terms of his sentence from afar.

Lawyers say Roman Polanski should come back to Los Angeles a free man.

Gordon gave no indication about how he would rule but said he thought Braun's allegations that previous judges had mistreated the director warranted a full hearing.

The 83-year-old director, writer and producer -- who won an Oscar in 2002 for "The Pianist" -- pleaded guilty in 1977, but fled to France in 1978 before his sentencing and has been living in Europe.

Southern California authorities have tried for years to bring Polanski back to America.

Braun filed court papers March 10 in which he wrote that Polanski will return to the United States for sentencing if a judge determines that he's already served more than enough time behind bars in connection with his plea. He wrote that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Laurence Rittenband -- who died in 1993 -- promised Polanski that he would be placed on probation if he received a favorable probation report, then broke the initial promise but promised the filmmaker that he would satisfy any custody requirement of his ultimate sentence if he went to prison for a diagnostic study.

Several reasons were given for Polanski seeking to resolve his criminal case. Warrants were issued for his arrest in Switzerland and his native Poland, where he has previously been captured and served some time. Polanski mostly resides in France.

The director would like to travel more widely, in order to visit his daughter in London and see American grandchildren he has never met. Polanski would also like to visit the grave of his wife, Sharon Tate, who was murdered by members of the so-called Manson Family.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press and City News Service contributed to this report.)

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