Laurence J. Rittenband

Laurence James Rittenband^[1] (December 5, 1905^[2] – December 30, 1993) was an American judge. He was a judge on the Superior Court of Los Angeles County in California.^[3]

The son of a New York clothing manufacturer, he graduated at the age of 19 from the New York University School of Law, after having entered directly from high school. After graduating with his law degree from NYU, he found he was too young to take the bar exam. While waiting, he earned a degree from Harvard University, graduating summa cum laude.^[4]

After passing the bar, he worked in the U.S. Attorney's office in New York and taught law at City College of New York. He also had a private law practice. He was wounded in North Africa during World War II.^[4]

He was appointed to the Los Angeles Municipal Court in 1961 by then-Governor Edmund G. (Pat) Brown, Sr. He was appointed to the Superior Court the following year.^[4] Brown and Rittenband had different politics; Brown was a Democrat, and Rittenband was a Republican.

His legal career spanned 60 years, during which he presided over several much publicized cases, including Elvis Presley's divorce, Marlon Brando's child-custody battle, a paternity suit against Cary Grant, and the criminal proceedings against Roman Polanski. He once vowed to remain on the bench until Polanski was behind bars, but retired in 1989, when he was 83 years old.^[5] Rittenband issued an arrest warrant for Polanski when he fled in 1978; Polanski was arrested in September 2009 in Switzerland, while traveling to a film festival there.

The 2008 documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired attacks Judge Rittenband for both his private life and his handling of the Polanski case.^[3][6] He was removed from the case in February 1978 after a complaint filed by Polanski's attorney and supported by the prosecutor in the case, as attested by both in individual interviews in the documentary.

Rittenband died aged 88 of cancer in West Los Angeles.^[7]

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