The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that..
Justice Marcus Einfeld has been found by the Supreme Court to have lied about a $77 driving offence and after almost
three years of wrangling, statutory declarations, surprise witnesses, conflicting accounts and courtroom manoeuvres, the Marcus Einfeld saga reduced itself yesterday to two words: "guilty" and "guilty" – his responses to the two indictments read out in the Supreme Court.
We learn from the SMH report that :
Einfeld, appearing before Justice Bruce James, pleaded guilty to having, on August 7, 2006, made a false statement at the Downing Centre Local Court that he was not the driver of a silver Lexus caught speeding in Mosman on January 8 that year.
He also pleaded guilty to having on or about August 23, 2006, made a false statement with the intention of perverting the course of justice.
It was all over in 10 minutes, including discussion between Justice James, the Deputy Senior Crown Prosecutor, Wayne Roser, SC, and Einfeld’s counsel, Ian Barker, QC, about the appropriate date for sentencing submissions.
Einfeld, who turned 70 in September, was immaculately dressed in pinstriped suit and surrounded by family members. He quietly slipped out of the court, saying: "No, no", to a media request for comment. Some with him turned aggressively on the media.
Einfeld had initially been charged with 14 offences: three counts of perjury, six of perverting the course of justice, two of making a false instrument, two of using a false instrument and one of hindering a police investigation, arising from a series of traffic incidents over six years.
Einfeld, who had served a term as chairman of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission, had been a Federal Court judge for 15 years. He had been appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia and proclaimed a National Treasure.
