Baltasar Garzón inflamed Spain’s right wing by investigating rights violations under Franco. Last month, he was removed from the bench. In an attack on sitting judges, Hungary’s ruling party lowered the mandatory retirement age for judges from 70 to 62. In Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela, a judge was imprisoned two years ago because she lawfully released a disfavored criminal defendant.
Newt Gingrich has vowed to arrest judges who refuse to testify before Congress about their decisions. Rick Perry has promised to “reform the federal judiciary,” saying those “who legislate from the bench should not be entitled to lifetime abuse of their judicial authority.” Gingrich and Rick Santorum want to abolish the “liberal” Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
