Storm Center: The Supreme Court in American Politics / Edition 11

by David M. O'Brien

Overview

The Supreme Court is a fundamentally political branch of the U.S. government that is deeply engaged in shaping American politics and policy. David O'Brien shows students how the Supreme Court is a "storm center" of political controversy where personality, politics, law, and justice converge. This thoroughly updated eighth edition of Storm Center continues to chart historic steps taken by the Court, and features an in-depth discussion of the Court's continuing turn to the right and the first terms of Chief Justice John Roberts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393603538
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	02/14/2017
Edition description:	Eleventh Edition
Pages:	456
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.10(d)
Lexile:	1500L (what's this?)

About the Author

David O’Brien was a Leone Reaves and George W. Spicer professor at the Woodrow Wilson department of government and foreign affairs at the University of Virginia. He received his PhD, MA, and BA degrees in philosophy and political science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and was the author of numerous books, including Constitutional Law and Politics and Storm Center: The Supreme Court in American Politics, winner of the American Bar Association's Silver Gavel Award.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

List of Tables, Charts, and Graphs xi

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xvii

1 A Struggle for Power 1

2 The Cult of the Robe 33

3 Life in the Marble Temple 107

4 Deciding What to Decide 164

5 Deciding Cases and Writing Opinions 237

6 The Court and American Life 308

Appendix: Members of the Supreme Court of the United States 369

Notes 373

Glossary 413

Selected Further Readings 419

Index 423

Editorial Reviews

A very useful introduction to the Court,well-liked by students for its lively style,anecdotes,and political acumen.

Carol Nackenoff

With the abortion and school desegregation decisions, O'Brien contends, the Supreme Court has ceased to be Hamilton's ``least dangerous branch.'' Increasingly activist, it has in fact become a ``storm center'' of national politics. Ever mindful of our judicial past, O'Brien likewise finds the Court is markedly more bureaucratic. His lucid text descibes the inner rules and proceduresthe cost of filings, screening procedures, certiorari petitions, the justices' give-and-take negotiations, their tentative votes and maneuverings, the oral arguments, the growing number of dissents and plurality opinions. O'Brien finds the Court rife with heated personal clashes. Rather than above the battle, it is highly sensitive to external pressures, from the President, Congress, public opinion. This is an illuminating, first-rate primer for those seeking to understand the workings of the Court. Milton Cantor, History Dept., Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst

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