Famed Spain judge convicted of misusing authority

The Spanish judge celebrated for pursuing international human rights cases was convicted of overstepping his jurisdiction in a domestic corruption probe on Thursday and barred from the bench for 11 years, completing a spectacular fall from grace for one of Spain's most prominent people. A seven-judge panel of the Supreme Court convicted Baltasar Garzon unanimously. He is 56, so the punishment could effectively end his career in Spain. Garzon acted arbitrarily in ordering jailhouse wiretaps of conversations between detainees and their lawyers, the court said, adding that his actions “these days are only found in totalitarian regimes.”