Biography

Lynn Candace Toler (born October 25, 1959) is an American lawyer, judge, television arbitrator (judge), and television presenter. She is best known for her role as former arbitrator over the longest-running courtroom television series, Divorce Court. She served as sole municipal court 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. She changed parties to Independent in 2016. During the 2001-02 television year, she replaced Andrew Napolitano as presiding judge over the nontraditional courtroom series, Power of Attorney. She also guest-starred on The Ricki Lake Show as a marriage counselor. From her 14 seasons with Divorce Court from 2006 to 2020, she is the longest reigning arbitrator over the series. 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, a couples therapy program. 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. She is also known for her co-hosting role together with Dr. Ish Major as marriage mentors over the series Marriage Boot Camp. Since February 2020, she has hosted the We TV hit series, Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars. She also hosts and executive produces a relationship reality show WeTV's Commit or Quit.