A court in the US has rejected attempts by lawyers for Roman Polanski to have charges against their client dropped on the grounds of alleged misconduct in the case.

As previously reported, Polanksi pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor back in 1977, as part of a plea deal with a now deceased Los Angeles judge, but when the judge reneged on the deal, Polanski fled to Europe, where he has been ever since.  The case hit the news again earlier this year when the film director was apprehended in Switzerland, where he was ultimately placed under house arrest until the Swiss government could decide whether he should be extradited or not.

Polanski's legal team argue that the aforementioned judge engaged in "backroom manipulations" during his handling of the case, and therefore believe the case should be dropped. Despite The California 2nd District Court of Appeal's dismissal of the appeal, they have recognised that the allegations need to be examined. Announcing the decision via their website, the justices stated that they are "deeply concerned that these allegations of misconduct have not been addressed by a court", and add: "Polanski's allegations urgently require full exploration and then, if indicated, curative action for the abuses alleged here".