The news broke yesterday that Roman Polanski had been arrested in Switzerland on that fugitive warrant, dating back to his flight from the U.S. before he could be sentenced in his 1976 statutory rape trial.

I don’t intend to defend Polanski — though I will happily argue for days on end that great art can live a life wholly separate from its creator, which is why I don’t see the point of rehashing Polanski’s personal life every time I write about “Rosemary’s Baby” or “Chinatown” — but after the disclosures of judicial misconduct in last year’s documentary “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired“, it seems obvious that nothing in this case is as clear as either side once believed.

But how do you handle something like this? The law is the law, and fugitives are supposed to be brought home to face justice, and it isn’t supposed to matter whether the fugitive is a multiple murderer, a tax cheat or a statutory rapist.

I mean, good luck finding a jury of the guy’s peers — or twelve people in the Los Angeles area who’ve never heard of him — but yes, it seems like this needs to be settled once and for all. I’m just not looking forward to the publicity, is all I’m saying.