Ferocious fight among Brazil’s supreme court erupts on eve of presidential election

Scandal explodes as country's election campaign peaks, with polls suggesting dead heat between candidates

Brazil's supreme court has been thrust into what experts consider the greatest crisis since the return of democracy in the 1980s, as two rival judges lock horns on the eve of the presidential election with unpredictable consequences for Latin America's largest democracy.

The politically charged dispute exploded into public view on Tuesday as judges traded insults and accusations during a heated supreme court hearing that was livestreamed into millions of Brazilian homes.