Lynn Toler

Lynn Candace Toler (born October 25, 1959)[1][2] is an American lawyer and, previously, the arbitrator (judge) on the court series Divorce Court. On March 5, 2020, after thirteen consecutive years, Toler announced her departure from the series.

Lynn Candace Toler
Toler during an interview in November 2019
Born (1959-10-25) October 25, 1959
EducationHarvard University (AB) University of Pennsylvania (JD)
Occupation
  • Judge
  • lawyer
  • arbitrator
Years active2001-present
Spouse(s)Eric Mumford (m. 1989)
Children2
Websitehttp://www.judgelynn.com

Early life and education

Lynn Toler was born in Columbus, Ohio.[3] Toler earned an undergraduate degree in English and American Literature from Harvard College (1981) and a Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School (1984).[4]

Career

Toler served as sole municipal judge in Cleveland Heights Municipal Court for eight years after working as an attorney specializing in civil matters. At 34 years old, she won her first judicial race by just six votes as a Republican in a predominantly Democratic district where Democrats held a 5:1 majority. Her cases involved all misdemeanor crimes, traffic, and minor cost civil cases within an inner ring suburb of Cleveland, Ohio of about 50,000 residents. When re-elected in 2000 she garnered 80% of the vote. Toler was known for enforcing nontraditional judgments, such as hand written essays. While on the bench she created and ran a mentoring program for teenage girls. During this time, she served on many boards including The Juvenile Diabetes Board, The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) and The Cleveland Domestic Violence Center. In 2002, she received The Humanitarian of the Year Award from The Cleveland Domestic Violence Center.

While serving as a retired judge between 2001 and 2006, Toler became an adjunct professor at Ursuline College in Pepper Pike, Ohio, where she created, and taught, courses on Civil Rights Law and Women's Rights.

Television

As the level-headed arbiter of Divorce Court, Toler is usually seen providing counsel, words of wisdom, and trying to talk sense into the show's outrageous couples. She has a strident vocal timbre and uses emphasis in much of her speech. Prior to becoming the arbitrator of Divorce Court, she hosted the short-lived court show Power of Attorney. In 2007, while hosting Divorce Court, she expanded her television presence by becoming the host of the prime time television show and MyNetworkTV's Decision House.[5] In 2008 and 2009, Toler was a bi-monthly contributor on News and Notes, a weekly news show on National Public Radio (NPR). In 2009, she became a co-executive producer of Wedlock or Deadlock, a syndicated limited-city series based on a segment of Divorce Court.

Toler has guest-starred on The Ricki Lake Show as a marriage counselor. Toler can now be seen on WE tv's hit show Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars.

She departed Divorce Court after thirteen years in March of 2020.[6]

Books

Toler is the author of My Mother's Rules: A Practical Guide to Becoming an Emotional Genius, in which she describes lessons her mother, Shirley (nicknamed Toni), taught her to handle both her father Bill Toler's erratic behavior and her own inner demons. She describes how this later came in handy when dealing with emotional people from the bench. She also discusses how to apply these rules to everyday life.

In 2009, her second book, Put it In Writing (co-authored with Deborah Hutchison), was published. This book contains agreements for use in common but uncomfortable situations between family and friends, such as lending money, and grown children returning home.

Personal life

Toler resides in Mesa, Arizona, with her husband, Eric Mumford. They married in 1989, and Toler has two sons and four stepsons.[7]

See also

References
  1. "Meet Judge Lynn". Divorce Court. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  2. "JudgeLynn.com". Lynn Toler. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  3. "Divorce Court's Judge Lynn Toler chats with 50BOLD". 50bold. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  4. "Lynn C. Toler Lawyer Profile - martindale.com". martindale.com. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  5. Judge Lynn Toler to Host MyNetworkTV's "Decision House", Broadcasting & Cable, July 13, 2007
  6. "Divorce Court's Lynn Toler Exits Series After '13 Great Years' as She Praises Her Replacement". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  7. "TV judge is just another Mesa mom – sort of". azcentral.com. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
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