Lynn Toler

Judge Lynn is a graduate of Harvard University and The University of Pennsylvania Law School. She began practicing law in Cleveland in 1984. In 1993, at the age of 33, she was elected judge of The Cleveland Heights Municipal Court. While on the bench, Judge Lynn volunteered actively in her community creating innovative programs for young offenders such as Woman Talk, a program designed to intensively mentor young, at-risk girls.

While on the bench, Judge Toler also headed the Cleveland Heights Coordinated Community Response to Violence against Women, a countywide initiative for the coordination of community resources to assist women who are victims of violence. She was also active as an advisory board member for Templum House, a battered women’s shelter. As a result of her work in the area of domestic violence in 2002, she was awarded The Humanitarian of the Year Award from The Cleveland Domestic Violence
Center.

In 2001, Judge Lynn became the host of the nationally syndicated show Power of Attorney. During this time Judge Toler started work on her first book and served as a retired judge sitting by assignment in multiple jurisdictions throughout Ohio. In addition, as an adjunct professor at Ursuline College, Judge Toler created and taught courses on Civil Rights Law, and Women and the Law. She was also a frequent instructor for the Ohio Judicial College, where she helped create and taught continuing judicial education course for other judges.

Judge Lynn became the host of Divorce Court since 2006. In 2007, she expanded her television presence becoming the host of the prime time television show, Decision House. In 2008 and 2009, Judge Lynn was a bi-monthly contributor on News and Notes, a weekly news show on National Public Radio (NPR).

Judge Lynn is the author of two books. Her first, My Mother’s Rules: A Practical Guide to Becoming an Emotional Genius, published in 2006, is a humorous memoir in which Judge Lynn recounts a childhood lived in the shadow of mental illness and provides a practical guide to the emotional lesson learned from that experience. Her second book, Put It In Writing, coauthored with Deborah Hutchison, was published in September, 2009. It gives readers concrete, conflict-free solutions to the difficult situations that arise between family and friends.

Judge Lynn continues to write frequently for a variety of magazines. Currently she is a featured writer for Divorce Magazine published through out the United States and Canada. In 2009, Judge Toler was given The Voice of Freedom Award by the Philadelphia Chapter of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. joining former honorees Colin Powell and Vice President Al Gore, in ringing the
Liberty Bell on Martin Luther King Day. Born on October 25, 1959, she has been married to Eric Mumford since April, 1989. She had two sons and four stepsons.

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