A Polish court, which is to rule on filmmaker Roman Polanski's extradition to the United States over a 1977 child sex conviction, said on Wednesday it had not received requested legal help from the United States before a deadline expired.
This may prove a potential stumbling block in the legal case. At a sitting in May, the court said it had requested further information from the U.S. authorities by Aug. 8, and adjourned the case until mid-September.
The court has now extended the deadline by the time it may take for the document to be delivered by post, Judge Waldemar Zurek at the district court in the southern city of Krakow told Reuters.
Under Polish law, if the court rules in favor of the extradition, the case will then be passed on to the justice minister, who will make the final decision.
The Oscar-winning film-maker pleaded guilty in 1977 to having sex with a 13-year-old girl during a photoshoot in Los Angeles fuelled by champagne and drugs.
Polanski served 42 days in jail as part of a 90-day plea bargain. He fled the United States the following year, believing the judge hearing his case could overrule the deal and put him in jail for years.
In 2009, Polanski was arrested in Zurich on a U.S. warrant and placed under house arrest. He was freed in 2010 after Swiss authorities decided not to extradite him.
