WENTWORTH, N.C. — History is being made in North Carolina's courts. For the first time, an African-American woman is the chief justice of the supreme court. Cheri Beasley took that seat on the bench in March 2019.
In Rockingham County it's Judge Erica Brandon who is breaking the norm. She's the first African-American, man or woman, to serve as a district court judge. Judge Brandon hears cases in both Rockingham and Caswell Counties.
These two women are holding positions historically held by white men.
As an American we are promised a trial by a jury of our peers - or a group of people who represent the population as a whole. But is the person seated on the bench representative of that population? Data from the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy suggests they are not.
The disparity between the judge in a courtroom and the person on trial is known as the "gavel gap." In North Carolina 9% of state judges are African-American women, 13% are white women, 18% of judges are African-American men and the majority of the court, 66%, are white men.
Chief Justice Beasley sees it as an opportunity for growth.
"I think it’s exciting that people see that it’s important that our judicial branch reflect the population of North Carolina," she said. "And I hope also that not just I serve as an inspiration but all judges serve as an inspiration and other lawyers can see that these other kinds of positions are attainable for them."
Governor Roy Cooper appointed her the 29th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court after Chief Justice Mark Martin resigned. Beasley sees her role as a way to influence future generations.
"I hope that in some way I’m planting seeds," she said. "In a lot of ways I hope that my role inspires young people to be, whether it’s chief justice or something else, that young people can see that they really do offer the hope and prosperity that these communities provide and that they can see that they can be whatever it is they’d like to be."
It's a sentiment shared by Judge Brandon.
"I think every person deserves a position at the table," she said. "Whether it’s African- American [or] whether it’s female. And for children to see whether you are this little brown boy or little brown girl, you can be this too."
The gravity of her role on the district court is not lost on Judge Brandon. She, too, was appointed by Governor Roy Cooper in July 2019. Brandon lost the race for the seat to Mike Gentry but he aged out of the position in May.
"God had a different path, a different plan for me." she said.
Part of that plan, she said, is taking on a number of roles in the court and in her family. Brandon has a husband and two children: a four-year-old daughter, appropriately named Justice and a two-year-old son, Jordan. Her daughter's name came to her after she says she brought justice to a mentally-challenged child who was sexually abused.
"It let me know that what I was doing, it was real and it let me know that whether it’s just one person at a time, what we do is important and my job was to be the advocate and to speak for this child that could not tell what was actually going on with her and did not know what was wrong – to be the advocate for her."
Now she hopes to advocate for people in both Rockingham and Caswell Counties. She says her roles as a mother, a wife, in the District Attorney's office, and as a lawyer at a private firm all contribute to her new position on the bench.
"I’m hoping to bring my experience - my faith that I have that’s grounded me - I hope to bring those experiences to the bench – I’m hoping that I can see it in a different position and a different light that maybe other judges cannot."