The Supreme Court may appear to be a less political body than Congress or the executive branch, but in fact it is a fundamentally political institution, deeply engaged in the struggles for power that shape American politics and society. David O'Brien shows students how the Supreme Court is a "storm center" of political controversy, where personality, politics, law, and justice come together to help determine the course of public policy.

This thoroughly updated Seventh Edition of Storm Center continues to chart historic steps taken by the Court, drawing on new material from the recently opened private papers of Justice Harry A. Blackmun, and including expanded coverage of the Rehnquist court and its impact on American life.