1.) The dual court system in the US provides citizens with multiple courts to appeal verdicts given to them. To challenge the decisions of lower courts. While the process is tedious, going through the layers of state and then federal courts, people can bring their cases all the way from the bottom to the Supreme Court. Through the Supreme Court, a select few individuals can have long lasting impact on the writing and shaping of laws in the United States. An example is Brown v Board of Education. Brown started as a District Court case then moved up to the Supreme Court (giving it more of a country-wide stage), and has had a huge impact on the country’s laws on racial equality, as well as the way that its citizens view race and racial issues.

Additionally, the courts routinely deal with the people and their issues directly. Their job is, in theory, to protect the rights of all citizens.

2.) Federal judges are selected through a peculiar process that ignores the country’s proposed commitment to democracy. The sitting president selects a candidate, and then that candidate is voted on by Congress. If Congress confirms them, they have the position. In the case of the Supreme Court, they serve for life, unless they decide to retire.

This process, as stated, is anti-democratic. By not allowing the people to vote on the selection of federal judges, they are essentially being shut out of the process that shapes and creates U.S. Law. This, however, is in line with the thought processes in Federalist #10. Madison viewed the people, or the working class, as unable to make decisions on how to be governed, and thought that democracy was a dangerous evil. In his view, the rich, owning class knew best, because they are inherently smarter.

It is also a way to protect the interests of the owning class. The president, who is often rich, is backed by corporate donors and the rich. In order to keep this funding, presidents often act in the interests of these financial backers. Most politicians have corporate and millionaire/billionaire donors and act firstly in their interests, including those in Congress, who confirm the judges. The selection of judges is influenced by these factors.