--- title: Roman Polanski Lawyers Liken Court Case to Nazi Invasion description: The attorneys representing director Roman Polanski criticized a U.S. court for what they felt was "illegal conduct" likened to the Nazis canonical: https://time.com/4741407/roman-polanski-court-nazis/ author: Aric Jenkins article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-15T15:08:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:05:28.174Z og:title: Roman Polanski's Lawyers Compared a U.S. Court to the Nazi Invasion of Poland og:description: 'Mr. Polanski was as justified in fleeing this Court’s illegal conduct as he was to flee the Germans who invaded Poland' og:url: https://time.com/4741407/roman-polanski-court-nazis/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt08691d0e04c4b9a2/6988b0d5656a3f1ed9bce12b/gettyimages-596880442.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3382 og:image:height: 1902 og:image:alt: FRANCE-LITERATURE-BOOK-FAIR og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Roman Polanski's Lawyers Compared a U.S. Court to the Nazi Invasion of Poland twitter:description: 'Mr. Polanski was as justified in fleeing this Court’s illegal conduct as he was to flee the Germans who invaded Poland' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt08691d0e04c4b9a2/6988b0d5656a3f1ed9bce12b/gettyimages-596880442.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Roman Polanski's Lawyers Compared a U.S. Court to the Nazi Invasion of Poland by [Aric Jenkins](https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Apr 15, 2017 3:08 PM UTC  Oscar-winning Polish-French director Roman Polanski looks on on Aug. 28, 2016 in Chanceaux-près-Loches, central France, during the 21th book fair "The book forest" (La Foret Des Livres). Poland's Supreme Court has upheld a refusal to have Polanski extradited to the U.S. if he enters Poland. Oscar-winning Polish-French director Roman Polanski looks on on Aug. 28, 2016 in Chanceaux-près-Loches, central France, during the 21th book fair "The book forest" (La Foret Des Livres). Poland's Supreme Court has upheld a refusal to have Polanski extradited to the U.S. if he enters Poland.GUILLAUME SOUVANT—AFP/Getty Images by [Aric Jenkins](https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Apr 15, 2017 3:08 PM UTC The attorneys representing film director [Roman Polanski](http://motto.time.com/4724515/roman-polanski-appeal-rejected/) criticized a U.S. court for what they felt was “illegal conduct” likened to the [Nazi](http://time.com/4735540/sean-spicer-hitler-chemical-weapons-apology/) invasion of Poland that launched World War II. The lawyers filed a 13-page document requesting a judge to reconsider jail time for Polanski should he return to the United States, [according to the Wrap.](http://www.thewrap.com/roman-polanski-compares-us-court-to-nazi-invasion-in-latest-filing/) “Mr. Polanski was as justified in fleeing this Court’s illegal conduct as he was to flee the Germans who invaded Poland,” the filing read, the Wrap reported. Polanski fled the Nazi regime in Poland in 1943, according to his biographer, and went on to direct Academy Award winner [_The Pianist_](http://time.com/4434743/wladyslaw-szpilman-inspired-pianist-wins-appeal/)_,_ which centers on a Jewish ghetto during World War II in the country’s capital, Warsaw. Polanski left the U.S. in 1978 before his sentencing for pleading guilty to unlawful sex with a minor. The director had been charged with six felonies after allegedly having sex with a 13-year-old girl. He fled to France, which does not extradite its citizens, fearing imprisonment and deportation, and has lived there since. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4741407/roman-polanski-court-nazis/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4741407/roman-polanski-court-nazis/"},"headline":"Roman Polanski's Lawyers Compared a U.S. Court to the Nazi Invasion of Poland","datePublished":"2017-04-15T15:08:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:05:28.174Z","description":"'Mr. Polanski was as justified in fleeing this Court’s illegal conduct as he was to flee the Germans who invaded Poland'","url":"https://time.com/4741407/roman-polanski-court-nazis/","keywords":["motto","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt08691d0e04c4b9a2/6988b0d5656a3f1ed9bce12b/gettyimages-596880442.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aric Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt08691d0e04c4b9a2/6988b0d5656a3f1ed9bce12b/gettyimages-596880442.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"FRANCE-LITERATURE-BOOK-FAIR","caption":"FRANCE-LITERATURE-BOOK-FAIR","creditText":"GUILLAUME SOUVANT—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4741407/roman-polanski-court-nazis/","name":"Roman Polanski's Lawyers Compared a U.S. Court to the Nazi Invasion of Poland"}}]}] ```