Ashleigh Merchant

Ashleigh is originally from Clearwater, Florida, where she was raised with a strong sense of individual freedom. She was not only taught the importance of that freedom, but she was taught that she must work hard to protect that freedom. In college, Ashleigh proudly served as a Student Senator and she was the Chairwoman of the Senate's Rules and Ethics Committee. As Chairwoman, she headed investigations into claims of abuse and misconduct that were perpetuated by student government leaders. Ashleigh earned her bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Florida. From there, she went on to attend the University of Florida law school where she graduated in 2003. During law school, Ashleigh actively participated in moot court and argued before the New York Supreme Court in Buffalo, New York where she won first place in the Herbert Weschler National Criminal Law Moot Court Competition. While in law school, Ashleigh clerked for a criminal defense attorney where she was able to gain insight and experience into the field of criminal law all throughout the nation. Ashleigh had the unusual opportunity to defend a woman who had been charged with capital murder in a case that Ashleigh took all the way to the United States Supreme Court. Through her passionate efforts, she changed the standard that criminal defendants must meet in order to have their convictions reversed for poor quality legal representation at the trial level.