In 1926, Governor Walter M. Pierce appointed her district judge for Multnomah County.

Governor Pierce had previously appointed her to Oregon's Child Welfare Commission.

[6] In 1935, Spurlin became Oregon's director of women's programs for the Works Progress Administration.

[7] Spurlin wrote in 1935 about the negative reactions the public had to uniformed police officers, adding that policewomen in street dress had an advantage over uniformed patrolmen in gaining the confidence of both troublesome children and their parents.

Spurlin was elected president of the Portland Federation of Women's Clubs on April 9, 1927.