When Joe Webster became an attorney, one of his first cases was a civil rights lawsuit he filed against his hometown of Madison, North Carolina. He successfully argued that it was wrong for the town to deny him, a black man, his own office space in a predominantly white neighborhood.
That case continues to resonate with him today as a federal magistrate judge for North Carolina's Middle District. He is the first point of contact for people who are entering the U.S. court systems, and often describes his job as a delicate balance between dispensing justice and offering hope for offenders.
But as he learned from the lawsuit against his own hometown, recognizing injustice is just as critical as the duty to deliver justice.
Host Frank Stasio talks with Judge Joe Webster about his work, and about the state of the American justice system.