Garzón fails in bid to overturn second court suspension

MADRID (El Pais) The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the petition of Baltasar Garzón to throw out the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ)'s April 19 order to suspend him from his duties over the High Court judge's use of wiretaps on inmates and their lawyers linked to the ongoing investigation into the Gürtel corruption network. The Supreme Court rejected all of Garzón's arguments against a second suspension. The judge has been under disciplinary leave since May, 2010 after the same court ruled that he had exceeded his brief in launching an investigation into crimes against humanity committed during the Spanish Civil War and subsequent dictatorship of Francisco Franco.Garzón had argued that it was futile to suspend a judge already under suspension. The CGPJ is expected to ratify his suspension today.