The California 2nd District Court of Appeal issued the decision Monday, and also lifted a stay on all proceedings.

Polanski's attorney, Chad Hummel, claimed the entire Los Angeles Superior Court bench is biased against the director. Prosecutors countered that the claim was frivolous.

Polanski pleaded guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles in 1978 but fled to France before he could be sentenced.

Superior Court spokesman Allan Parachini says a new date for the hearing will be set Tuesday.

More than 500 people have been sickened and at least eight may have died. Authorities fault Peanut Corp. of America. Officials said the company shipped products that initially tested positive for salmonella after retesting and getting a negative result.

The outbreak has led to a massive recall of products ranging from ice cream to cookies and prompted consumer groups to urge Congress to require annual inspections of food processing plants.

"I think that the FDA has not been able to catch some of these things as quickly as I expect them to catch," Obama said in an interview aired Monday on NBC's "Today" show. "And so we're going to be doing a complete review of FDA operations."

The president said Americans should be able to count on the government to keep children safe when they eat peanut butter and that includes his 7-year-old daughter Sasha.

"That's what Sasha eats for lunch probably three times a week. And you know, I don't want to have to worry about whether she's going to get sick as a consequence to having her lunch," Obama said.

The FDA has asked the Justice Department to launch a criminal investigation into Virginia-based Peanut Corp. of America. Documents showed that until shortly before the salmonella outbreak, federal food safety inspectors had not been to the plant since 2001.

"The FDA is supposed to be a watchdog for consumers, and for too long, this agency has been coming up short," said Jean Halloran, director of Food Policy Initiatives for Consumers Union.

Terry Lisotta was arraigned in Baton Rouge on 14 counts of theft. Lisotta, CEO of Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. until April 2007, is accused of improperly spending about $30,000 of the firm's money.

The criminal charges stem from an investigation by the Legislative Auditor's Office that questioned $106,000 of Lisotta's expense reports from 2003-2006. State Attorney General Buddy Caldwell's office is prosecuting.

Cynthia Haddad filed the gender discrimination lawsuit after she fired in April 2004 after 10 years at the Pittsfield Wal-Mart.

In 2007, a Berkshire Superior Court awarded Haddad nearly $1 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages. The company appealed.

A judge upheld the compensatory damages but agreed to revoke the punitive damages, saying there was insufficient basis for the jury’s decision.

On Thursday, both sides make their case on the issue of the punitive damages before the Supreme Judicial Court.

"These are two of the most flamboyant attorneys in town," DePaul University law professor Leonard Cavise says of the team of Sam Adam and his son, Samuel E. Adam.

Cavise predicts fireworks if Blagojevich goes to trial on federal corruption charges, including allegations that he tried to sell the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama.

Federal prosecutors are expected to obtain an indictment by April. Blagojevich was arrested by FBI agents in December and was booted from office Thursday when a state Senate impeachment trial ended with a 59-0 vote against him.

Some are already questioning the Adams' legal strategy — including their decision to let Blagojevich go on a whirlwind New York media tour before his impeachment trial ended, fielding questions about the criminal case from Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer, Larry King and more.

Blagojevich also gave an impassioned closing argument to senators before they removed him from office, although he didn't testify under oath.

His unwillingness to stay quiet cost him the help of his former lead attorney, Edward M. Genson, who announced he was withdrawing from the case before the media blitz.

Lawyers say Blagojevich tipped his hand about a possible defense when he said in his Senate plea that he had no intent to commit any crime.