James McGregor is a well-known Professor of Political Science, presidential biographer, and authority on American leadership. His significant contributions in leadership theory have made him master on the subject. A recognized master of the study of power and leadership in America, McGregor is best known for his prize-winning biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Roosevelt: Soldier of Freedom 1940-1945. In his latest provocative work entitled Packing the Court: The Rise of Judicial Power and the Coming Crisis of the Supreme Court, McGregor focuses on the dominance and narrow-mindedness of the Supreme Court.

Published in June of 2009 by Penguin Group USA, Packing the Court is available in hardcover and book on tape formats.

Much as the country’s idealism promotes the idea that the court is completely independent of ideological politics, Packing the Court proves that more often than not, this is not entirely true. McGregor contends that the justices of the Supreme Court often overstep the limited roles as interpreters given to them by the framers of the Constitution. Instead, they interfere in the lawmaking process.

In the book, the author states that the current system honors the Constitution’s ultimate vision of a balanced government by not granting judicial powers to the Supreme Court. McGregor uses this pertinent fact in Packing the Court and lists several events throughout history when the Supreme Court vetoed acts of Congress. He notes how their interference delays progress in the United States despite great potential over the ages.

One reader said that McGregor presented historic facts with verve and lots of humor. The readers finish the book having learned something about the history of the Supreme Court from McGregor’s original and provocative arguments.

Other factors that have influenced the shaping of the Supreme Court are the continually changing times and the unpredictability of human nature.

Though many consider Packing the Court controversial, the book has received much praise for McGregor’s clever and highly original approach to writing.