Matthew Sperati
I'm running for District Court Judge, Seat 04 in Judicial District 8, which is comprised of all the courts in Edgecombe, Nash and Wilson Counties with courthouses in Tarboro, Nashville, Rocky Mount and Wilson. Our District has seven Judges who preside over our District Courts, hearing cases involving family/domestic, civil, criminal, mental health, child support, department of social services and juvenile matters among others. If elected, I will serve a four-year term. For many years, seat 04 has been held by the Honorable Anthony Brown but Judge Brown will reach mandatory retirement age before the November election.
My Story
I was born in Morganton, North Carolina in 1974. I am the son of Michael F. Sperati and Camille E. Rockett. I have three brothers: an older brother, John, who is also a lawyer; a twin brother, Jason, who is a pediatric dentist; and a younger brother, Josh, who is a project manager at SAS. I graduated from Freedom High School, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.S. in Industrial Relations, and North Carolina Central School of Law where I earned a Magna Cum Laude distinction. I learned the value of hard work from my father and mother. My father worked his way up from a blue collar laborer to plant manager of several different major industrial manufacturers by putting himself through Lenior-Rhyne University and the Wake Forest MBA program while holding down one or more jobs. My mother was an administrative assistant, a teacher’s aide with the Burke County School system, and later an at-home mom of four boys. I started my first job when I was 15 years old, weed-eating grass for the City of Morganton. Throughout high school and my first year of college, I worked at Quaker Meadows golf course progressing through all levels of groundskeeping and club house services.
I met my wife Deborah when we were both seniors at UNC-Chapel Hill. Deborah attended the UNC School of Law and is an attorney at Poyner Spruill LLP. We moved to Rocky Mount in 1999 to start our legal careers, with Deborah at Poyner Spruill and me at what was then Keel, Lassiter & Duffy, PLLC. I was made a partner in my firm in 2003 and the firm’s name was changed to Keel, Lassiter, Duffy & Sperati, PLLC and then later to Lassiter & Sperati, PLLC. During my career I have had a wide ranging practice and have represented clients in traffic, criminal, juvenile, DSS, civil, domestic, child support, mental health, probate, real estate, corporate, municipal, foreclosure matters and other areas of the law. In my numerous years of service on the court-appointed list, I have served countless indigent clients in Edgecombe County. I am also the attorney for the Town of Dortches, Braswell Memorial Public Library and NEWCA, Inc.
I believe that it is my civic duty to try to better my community and to that end have participated or currently participate as a board member or volunteer with the Rocky Mount Area Chamber, Tar River Kiwanis, Rocky Mount Friends of the Arts, Communities in Schools, Tri-County Industries, Meals on Wheels, Rocky Mount Board of Adjustment, Rocky Mount Housing Authority, the North Carolina Crime Victim’s Compensation Committee. I am currently the Chairman of the Rocky Mount Planning Board, where I have served for ten years.
I earned my black belt in Tae Kwon Do when I was 30 years old and love to spend time with Deborah and our two dogs, Amos and Olive, read good books, travel, visit the beach, attend music festivals and hike in the mountains.
Why I Want to be a Judge
I see a Judge, more than anything else, as a servant of our community, someone who is interested in the well-being of society and someone who has respect for justice, the law and people. I have spent my entire life trying to serve my community by volunteering for various community and civic groups and participating professionally in representing court appointed individuals in criminal cases. It is my sincere hope that these efforts have made a positive difference in my community and for society as a whole by promoting childhood education, funding the arts, and working to make government run more efficiently and give a voice to the people. When I am elected, my service to my community would continue as a Judge making sure the judicial system provides a means for all people who find themselves in our courts to be heard in a fair, efficient and respectful manner.
Over my legal career, I strove to make my legal knowledge as varied and expansive as possible. I have handled almost all, if not all, the legal matters a Judge would be required to hear and rule on. I know and can comprehend and understand the applicable laws, perceive how those laws apply to the facts at hand and empathize with the people my decisions would affect. I believe I have consistently demonstrated a calm, level-headed, thoughtful approach to my practice. I intend to bring those same qualities to the bench.
I believe that I am well liked in our legal community and that I treat all the lawyers, court staff and litigants with respect and fairness. I believe a Judge should be patient, open-minded, polite, tactful, punctual, firm, understanding, compassionate and possess humility and common sense. I believe a Judge should be quick to perceive, comprehend and understand new concepts, possess critical reasoning, decision making and listening skills. I believe a Judge should handle professional/personal stress and criticism and scrutiny well. I believe my personal and professional experience combined have equipped me with exactly those ideals. I believe becoming a Judge is a natural progression in the path I have walked my entire life and I would work tirelessly in that capacity, just as I have in private practice.