On July 11, WLALA co-sponsored a discussion with North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Cheri Beasley, who is a trailblazer as one of a few women of color and former assistant public defenders to sit on a state supreme court.  United States District Judge Andre Birotte moderated the event.  Close to 60 people attended the event at Southwestern Law School to hear Justice Beasley speak on her appointment to the state district court, her historic election to the state court of appeal as the first black woman to win a statewide office in North Carolina, and her eventual appointment to the highest court.  She discussed her dissent in J.D.B. v. North Carolina, which she authored while on the court of appeal, and how the United States Supreme Court ultimately vindicated her position.  Justice Beasley also talked about the effects of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission on state judicial elections.  The other co-sponsors included the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section, the John M. Langston Bar Association, the Asian Pacific American Bar Association, and the Pacific Juvenile Defender Center.