GRAYDON CARTER PIECE

Off the beaten path a bit, but the October issue of Vanity Fair(the one with a shirtless Paris Hilton on the cover)has interesting piece by editor Graydon Carter. He devotes his Editor's Letter monthly piece to his recent participation in the libel trial against Vanity Fair brought by none other than Roman Polanski, the director, and also as Carter describes him a "...fugutive from American justice". The piece does a nice job describing some of the differences between American court system and its counterpart in England[the most interesting from a trial lawyer's standpoint, being that in England, the defendant publisher is required to prove that what was printed was correct].

The crux of the case concerned a couple sentences contained within a story on Elaine's, the famous restuarant in New York where all the big shot literary types hang out. The story appeared in the July 2002 issue and was written by an A.E. Hotchner described as a "distinguished journalist". Carter also notes Hotchner was also apparently a friend of Ernest Hemingway[not sure how that's relevant, but hey, this is Vanity Fair magazine]. Apparently the article contained a story told by some other literary type about Polanski's conduct in Elaine's not long after his wife, Sharon Tate was brutally murdered by the Manson gang in 1969. I'm not going to discuss the alleged conduct, because I don't need Polanski suing me. In any event, Polanksi sued the magazine in England. One of the things that perplexed Carter was why a citizen of France can sue an American magazine in England. Can't say I blame him.

Carter goes on to discuss how Polanski won a major victory shortly before the trial was to begin. If he sued in the United States and showed up(which most U.S. courts would expect him to do) he probably likely would have been arrested. [A little background - in 1977 Polanski sodomized a 13 year old girl in California. He was ultimately indicted on six counts and pled guilty to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. He spent some 6 weeks in prison undergoing psychiatric tests, but eventually fled the country, worried about jail time. That's why the little weasel can't come back into the country]. If he sued in England and showed up, he ran the risk of being extradited to the States. So his lawyers argued that he should be allowed to litigate the case in England, while he himself stayed in France. The House of Lords agreed(?) so he was allowed to give his testimony, and watch the proceedings via video. Have to admit I'm curious why the House of Lords would be so solicitous of an admitted sex offender.

Anyway, cutting to the chase, Polanski prevailed at trial and was awarded approximately $100,000. Carter closed the article with a quote from the woman Polanski raped, now nearly 40 and a mother of three, presently living in Hawaii. "This libel case makes no sense, " she told a newspaper. "Surely a man like this hasn't got a reputation to tarnish?"