The fate of film director Roman Polanski over a 33-year-old sex case has swung back to the Swiss courts.
A California appeals court yesterday rejected his bid to allow him to be sentenced in his absence.
The Swiss Justice Ministry had been waiting for the court's ruling before deciding whether to allow Mr Polanski's extradition to Los Angeles for sentencing in the case.
Mr Polanski has been under house arrest for months at his chalet in the luxury resort of Gstaad as his lawyers repeatedly tried to win his freedom in Los Angeles courtrooms.
He has been wanted in the US since fleeing the country in 1978 after having sex with a 13-year-old girl.
His lawyers have argued repeatedly that Mr Polanski should not have to be present to be sentenced on one count of unlawful sexual intercourse. In their latest appeal, they argued that he should be sentenced to time served.
The recent appeal focused on newly obtained evidence from a former prosecutor who felt the original judge handling Polanski's case acted improperly. That testimony remains sealed.
The California 2nd District Court of Appeal dismissed Mr Polanski's appeal without issuing an opinion. They also dismissed a petition by Mr Polanski's victim, Samantha Geimer, to have the case dismissed.
The Swiss will only extradite Polanski to the US if he faces a sentence longer than six months. US prosecutors say Mr Polanski faces up to two years in prison.
It remains unclear how quickly the Swiss will rule on Mr Polanski's extradition.
The director could still seek to end the case in California by appealing to the state Supreme Court. His lawyers have not indicated what their next step will be.
Mr Polanski was accused in 1977 of plying Miss Geimer with champagne and a sedative, then raping her at Jack Nicholson's house.
Mr Polanski was charged on six counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy. He later pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sexual intercourse.
Authorities are seeking Mr Polanski's extradition from Switzerland so he can be sentenced on the charge.
His lawyers have said he fled because the judge handling the case planned to send Polanski back to prison even though he had completed a diagnostic study ordered by the court.
Mr Polanski's lawyers have cited numerous instances of apparent misconduct in the case by the judge, who is now dead. The appeals court and a lower court judge have said there are indications of serious misconduct in how the case was handled, but neither have ordered an evidentiary hearing that could resolve the matter.