Poland's judiciary was a tool of its government. New leaders are trying to undo that

WARSAW, Poland — When the right-wing Law and Justice party was voted into office eight years ago, it controlled the Polish government's legislative and executive branches. The only branch left standing in the way of its political agenda was the judiciary.

The party went straight to work.

First, it stacked Poland's constitutional court with loyal judges. Then, it took over the body in charge of safeguarding the independence of the courts and appointing the nation's judges.

Over the next several years, nearly 3,000 new judges were appointed by a body that was stacked by the Law and Justice-led government with loyalists in a process legal scholars deem unconstitutional. If any judges already in the system spoke out against these changes, the party created rules