The Arizona Justice Project named its first executive director, Carrie Sperling, in January 2008. Sperling brings over a decade of experience in civil rights litigation and post-conviction relief to the Project. She was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1992 and began her career as an associate in the litigation section of the Fort Worth, Texas, law firm, Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller. In 1994, Sperling became the director of the ACLU’s North Texas Region. After leaving the ACLU, Sperling began specializing in capital post-conviction relief and civil rights litigation.
Most recently, Sperling has been teaching as a visiting associate clinical professor at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, and she spent five years as an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Law.
Sperling graduated cum laude from the University of Houston Law Center. She served as an associate editor and member of the executive board for the Houston Law Review. Sperling has also served as a law clerk for the Honorable Jerry Buchmeyer, United States District Judge, and the Honorable Paul D. Stickney, United States Magistrate Judge, in the Northern District of Texas.