Australians were Monday savouring the conviction of former judge Marcus Einfeld on charges of making a false statement and acting to pervert the course of justice, dpa reported.
Einfeld, who 10 years ago was proclaimed a National Living Treasure for his devotion to justice, faces jail for lying to a magistrate in order to get out of paying a 77-Australian-dollar (50-US-dollar) speeding fine.
The millionaire former Human Rights and Equal Opportunity commissioner falsely claimed that a female friend, who proved to be dead at that time, was driving his car when it was snapped by a police speed camera.
"It shows that everybody is equal before the law regardless of how mighty you are," said a caller to talk-back radio who declared himself delighted with the surprise guilty plea.
The 70-year-old former Federal Court judge fiercely maintained his innocence right up to the point where he changed his plea to guilty.
"If I had committed this speeding offence I would have paid the 77-dollar (57-US-dollar) fine like any other responsible citizen," Einfeld told the sharp Daily Telegraph reporter who discovered he had given the name of a deceased US university professor as his alibi for the 2006 speeding offence.
"I would not even think of misleading a court. The suggestion that I have done so is hurtful because it contradicts everything I have always stood for."
Unfortunately, what came out during the long court battle showed Einfeld to be in the habit of lying.
He had falsely claimed to be a director of British retailing giant Marks&Spencer Ltd. The doctorate mentioned in his Who's Who entry was from a diploma mill in the US. He had been stung for plagiarism as recently as 2003.
Surprisingly for someone who had practiced as a barrister for 45 years, Einfeld not only proved an inept liar but a callous one.
He signed a statutory declaration naming his friend, Theresa Brennan, as the driver just a day after learning she was dead. He eventually even implicated his mother, telling the court he was driving her car at the time of the traffic violation.
Einfeld's changing version of events also brought down friends and colleagues.
A female friend faces a possible perjury charge after declaring she was a passenger in a car driven by a dead woman. Einfeld's first choice as defence lawyer left the case, and the profession, after his regular prostitute went to police with documents relating to the case.
Einfeld, a UNICEF ambassador, who will be sentenced next year, is expected to go to jail.