Roman Polanski, fugitive in Gstaad

Imagine a young black man accused of drugging and molesting a 13-year-old girl. Imagine it is even seriously suggested that a month in a rehabilitation facility is the sentence he may face. Imagine that before his sentencing he jumps bail and flees the country. Imagine he is found many years later and pleads, let bygones be bygones. Imagine him living in a fine chalet for months while teams of his lawyers plead for his freedom. Can you imagine this scenario?

You cannot because it would never happen. That we are still finagling in the criminal justice system about bringing film director Roman Polanski to justice, and suggesting we drop his case, reminds us how race and status and economics define the justice our courts administer, with the help of the Swiss, in this case. 

How does society look itself in the mirror when this is how “justice” is administered? How do we schizophrenically honor such a man because he is good at his work? Can the California trial system permit another example of its celebrity protection system?

Visit www.RonaldGoldfarb.com.