Coleen O'Donnell-Smith

Needs to be removed from the bench immediately! Has zero knowledge in what the best interests of the children actually is. Does not review evidence, believes everything the dads say. Doesn't even consider what the children's needs or wants are even if they are teenagers. Absolutely despicable. She should be ashamed ruining kids lives.

I feel bad for all of the families that have to be in front of her. I have sat in front of her over and over with police reports, cps reports, she will do nothing in the best interest of a child. She is not concerned about the child’s well being. She is tasteless and biased to women. She will take man for fact and women with tangible real evidence and not blink an eye. Not even blink an eye at the worst things. My child is at her hand and I watch her fail them over and over. She will have to stand in front of god one day of what she puts the hands of children in.

I appeared before Judge O’Donnell Smith in a family law matter and experienced significant procedural concerns. Motions pending before the court were not ruled on prior to a dispositive hearing, evidence admitted was later disregarded in practice, and material provisions were altered orally at hearing without clear findings or written justification. I left the process feeling that due process and consistent application of the rules were lacking. Transparency, clear rulings, and adherence to procedure are critical in family court, and those elements were not present in my experience.

Grandparents rights case she absolutely refuses to hear our case we practically raised these children unbelievable. It will be 11 months by the time our trial date gets here and I don’t expect much.

This woman does not listen to fact, logic, data, experts or anything of the sort. It would almost appear as if she is taking money or bribes based on what I have experienced. There is no way to have all of the information at hand, and still rule against it, missing the point this hard.

Biased, dishonorable, [Redated by Ed.] judge [Redated by Ed.] Mother submitted paperwork 12 hours before court and lied on initial court date about father to obtain custody, claiming father had drug/alcohol abuse issues. Judge had her ruling written before any evidence was even presented to the court. Father was subsequently subjected to random weekly urine tests, hair follicle tests, and supervised visits (during which he had to breathalyze once every 3 hours) with his son. After 6 months of having nothing but clean test results, judge denies father half custody. Mother, who actually has issues with alcohol and a diagnosed personality disorder (all of which proof has been provided to this judge), has never been subjected to any test of any kind and maintains custody of child. [Redated by Ed.] This is a warning to those hoping the system is just: beware. [Redated by Ed.]. She won’t be on the stand long.

[Redacted by Ed.] I have seen it first hand. She will also get her students from ASU to harass them.

I wish I would've read these comments about Judge O'Donnell-Smith sooner. I agree with all the comments that she rules in favor for males. My case was against the grandparents wanting visitation rights. After providing all evidence showing both grandparents convictions from Maricopa County (aggrivated DUIs, blue color crimes, prison records) and having to sit up there and give my testimony, the grandfather sits there for 10 minutes gives his two cents and cries for sympathy, that's what sealed the deal and gained them rights for my girls. Judge O'Connell-Smith still sides with them. Someone should really look into these cases that she has Judged on to determine if she is suitable for the position. Every attorney I have spoken to is really shocked that she ruled in their favor.

There is no honor in diminishing someone's sense of self-worth or respect. The loss is immeasurable ...my eyes have been opened to the sad realities of the family court. Trauma informed justices are needed ...

Mothers - beware. This judge is not impartial. She will give father absolutely everything he asks for. You cannot protect your children if she is your judge. Request a new judge if possible.

I have been facing with the judicial system and the enforcement of court orders related to spousal support. For over seven years, I have navigated the court system, trying to hold my ex-husband accountable for missed and incomplete spousal support payments, as outlined in our divorce decree. Our decree states he is to pay $2,000 per month in spousal support until either of us passes away or I remarry. Despite having the financial means to pay, he consistently falls short or misses payments entirely. Most recently, on February 20, 2025, Judge O'Donnell-Smith ruled that my ex-husband was in "substantial compliance" with the court order, despite his failure to pay the full amount owed—short by $35 on current support and missing the $1,000 arrears payment for February. This ruling contradicts the terms of the current court order, which explicitly states that a judgment and finding of contempt should be issued for any missed or late payments. Additionally, I filed a notice of non-compliance for February 2025 prior to the ruling, and yet here we are in April with no payments for the month of March 2025. Despite the lack of documentation to support my ex-husband’s testimony, Judge O'Donnell-Smith continues to accept his claims at face value, leaving me without recourse or accountability from the judicial system. I have already taken steps to address this matter through the Arizona Commission, Attorney General, Judicial Review Committee, and Arizona Bar Association, Local House and Senate Representatives, State Bar Association, and ABC Investigates. This situation not only impacts me personally but also raises broader concerns about impartiality in our courts and the rights of individuals to fair treatment.

Very terrible judge. JUST LOOK AT THE COMMENTS PRETTY MUCH SUMS UP MY COURT CASE SHE LIKES MEN AND NOT WOMEN!!

I have had this judge for 1 1/2 years and she has yet to rule in my favor. She sides with my ex-husband every time with no documentation on his testimony. I filed paperwork stating he hadn’t paid spousal support in 5 months. All of which she ignored. She has a bias and I have been stuck in the court system with her as a judge. She berated me on a zoom call at this time I did not have an attorney. My ex-spouse has had an Attorney the entire year and half but claims he has no money to pay spousal support. She doesn’t care about anything I had to say or any of my documentation. She is absolutely a Father Attorney which doesn’t help a single mother or the children. She is a bias judge. Wasting the courts time by not holding my ex accountable for non payment. You wonder why the court system is so backed up. She is the worst.

I think she shouldn’t be a judge. First of all, she denied my renewal for a OOP. She didn’t care father didn’t meet any paperwork deadlines. Didnt file financials and took his word for everything. She didn’t care about the multiple police reports I presented to her. She took fathers word and said he had proved substantial changes in circumstances with zero evidence . Then at a FC hearing, she allowed here say all to be factual truth. The father did not even ask for 50/50 he asked for EOW. Now I see my child much less than ever in his life and he gets to go to childcare on his Father’s days. She put us on a 5-2-2-5 schedule and my child is thrown around even more.It’s gross how much she didn’t take into consider for our son. He is a human being and should be with his parents not childcare works! Absolutely shocked by her laziness and even put the matter under advisement just to give an even more lazy order. Thanks Judge!!

After years of frustration with the family Court system Judge O'Donnell Smith allowed all the evidence to presented, she granted ample time to present the evidence and she made determinations that was in line with the law, the rules of procedure, the evidence and prior determinations. She is intelligent, thorough, fair and equitable. If you're a FATHER this is the right Judge. My only 2 complaints are she's slow with her determinations and she's lenient.