John S. Carlin

Totally unfair. He will take away women's kids with no justification. And he does not follow any of the procedures meant to make the proceedings fair.

Judge Carlin needs to be removed from the bench. My family has been in his family court for almost 3 years. He makes decisions on the way he is feeling that day and bases his decisions on which attorney he likes or doesn’t like. We have such A complex case and have asked many times for a guardian ad litem so he can hear from the children- he has denied one over and over. He has also denied our expert witnesses. He will not even listen to any evidence or testimony on our side. He even accepted evidence from the other attorney via email when court wasn’t in session. We never got the chance to prove/defend the statements/evidence were false. He also degraded and put his personal opinions in the motion. He ruins families and puts children in danger. He doesn’t listen to all the facts on both sides. He is biased and should be removed. If you have been wronged by this Judge, please file a complaint with JQC Judicial Qualifications Commission . If you have been wronged by Judge Carlin and want to reach out, please email me.

I need everyone who has been a victim of Corrupt Carlin to go and file a complaint with JQC judicial qualifications commissions and speak up! This judge has violated my due process not once- not twice but three times. He’s signed ex parte motions that were far from being qualified to be filed as an ex parte. He has issued no contact order for my daughter and has taken my daughter from me 3 times in a year. It’s been 16 months with this excuse of a judge and he has YET to hear my side or let me speak. I will do everything in my power to take this judge down- he does not deserve to be on bench. He is bias and once he picks a side he sticks with it. He has 135 appeals on the acis.flcourts.gov he’s one of the most appealed judges in the state! He belongs in jail- and what he is doing to innocent families should be a crime. If you have been a victim of Carlin and want to reach out please feel free to contact me!

In my ongoing custody case, Judge Carlin has demonstrated a troubling lack of fairness and transparency. Despite being a devoted mother, he has unjustly taken my children 100% out of my custody, granting temporary full custody to my ex-partner, who has a history of domestic violence and multiple arrests. He has provided no explanation for this decision or guidance on how I can reinstate my custody rights. His rulings are abrupt, leaving me to wonder if he has read any of my motions, as he consistently signs off on orders written by opposing counsel verbatim, without adjusting for relevant facts. Furthermore, despite the case being complex and ongoing for over two years since it reopened, Judge Carlin has never shown his face on Zoom hearings and refuses to allow in-person hearings, even when my children’s well-being is at stake. This lack of engagement and transparency has severely undermined my faith in the fairness of the judicial process.

I am a family lawyer who has practiced more than 30 years and have appeared before more than 2 dozen judges. Judge Carlin is one of the worst judges I have seen. Prejudges cases and rules for his buddies. Most telling is that JUDGE CARLIN IS THE MOST APPEALED AND REVERSED FAMILY LAW JUDGE IN THE ENTIRE STATE OF FLORIDA.

Family Law lawyer here. I enjoy practicing law and trying cases or motions in front of Judge Carlin. Judge Calin is efficient and has a knack for getting right to the heart of the dispute. I agree with the majority of his rulings as well.

Judge Carlin comes into court with an upbeat and happy demeanor. He appears to listen and be concerned about the cases in front of him. Those are the qualities that make his cruelty all that more insidious. He is not a nice man and should not be a judge.

Being in court can be stressful, based on what I had heard from my friends. However, Judge Carlin kindly welcomed everyone and set a positive tone for our day in court. He listened carefully to each side and made his ruling based on the facts. While I didn’t agree 100% with his ruling, I felt that he truly cares about people, including our children, and worked hard to be fair. He encouraged me and my ex to put our anger at each other aside and to put our kids’ needs first. If you have to go to court, I hope that you get Judge Carlin. He made our day much less stressful than it could have been! Great Judge!

Excellent judge who truly cares about children and families! I was a nervous wreck going to court, but Judge Carlin listened carefully as everyone testified and made them feel comfortable.

Should be disbarred. Do your job or quit.

Been in practice more than 30 years and have appeared in front of multiple judges, both good and bad over my career. Judge Carlin is one of the worst jurist I have seen. He prejudges case and rules based upon his feelings about the attorneys and the litigants, and not upon the law. Further, he is frequently rude and abrasive, which prevents a party from even presenting his/her case. It is shocking that in a community the size of Fort Myers, FL that he is allowed to continue in that position.

There really could not be a worse judge! I can’t believe he has been doing this for as long as he has! He should have been removed years ! His courtroom is a joke!

I have NO idea how this “Judge” (questionable) has remained a judge this long. He has lost his ability for “Fair” judgement and should NO longer be a judge. His decisions in family court ruin families and Children’s lives. Something needs to be done to remove him from the bench!

~This Judge just made a huge mistake in his judgement where children are involved!!!! I pray this judgement does not effect the children, but it will have an ill effect on them so said he could not see the truth !! not one father out of four ever stayed around for these kids and this man he just ripped the kids from has been there for the children who are not even his blood. something is wrong if no other man has stayed around and no other man has contacted his kids!!! Judge you made a huge mistake

THIS JUDGE DOSE NOT GIVE YOU THE TIME OF DAY, WHEN YOUR TRING TO PLEAD YOUR CASE. HOW HE MAKES HIS DISSIONS IS BEYOND ME AS HE DOSE NOT KNOW ALL THE FACTS AND DOSENT WANT TO KNOW BUT INSTEAD LIKES TO RUSH YOU OUT, THIS IS NOT A JOKE AND IT RELATES TO PEOPLES LIFE. IF THE JUSTIC SYSTEM CANNOT BE NUTRUAL AND HEAR THE ARGUMENTS THEN THIR SHOULD NOT BE A JUDICAL SYSTEM. ITS TIME THIS JUDGE RETIRED AS IT SEEMS LIKE HE DOSENT WANT TO DO THE RIGHT THING.

This judge should be impeached and NO LONGER be able to be a judge! Carlin does not review before a trial, and makes decisions without knowing who or what is sitting before him! He abuses his discretion for continuance in trial, when a continuance was blatantly warranted. He is very biased. A quarter of the way into trial, you could tell where this was going. [Redacted by Ed.] He also rules on motions that were not presented until the middle of trial. So you have no warning on what is being presented and how to defend yourself or your due process. Ambushing seems to be his calling! He needs to be REMOVED NOW!!!!! Lives are being destroyed with him on the bench!! The only good remarks seem to come from friends, family or lawyers who are in good standing with him. Please, someone, turn him into: The Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission He should NOT be a Judge!

Extremely biased. Does not adhere to the law, rules or procedures meant to protect litigant's rights. Once he decides he doesn't like you for whatever reason or if he favors the opposing party's attorney, he will rule against you, deprive you of hearings, have surprise trials, refuse to have pre-trial orders so that the opposing party can have trial by ambush. If you get this judge, drop your case and re-file.

I appeared before Judge Carlin in a Domestic Violence case. I was impressed with his patience and listening to my case. I have a lot of tatoos and I was afraid that I would lose because of my appearance. Judge Carlin did not judge me by my looks but followed the law. I have read the negative reviews and I totally disagree. I hope that I get Judge Carlin if I ever go back to court.

This Judge is emotionally incompetent. He has an insatiable lust for power and dull mind to go with it. He deprives litigants of due process, refuses to act on open fraud in his court and otherwise breaches the constitutional minimums every docket I have witnessed. He is lazy and frankly on the bench because he likely could not succeed in a world that requires actual production and value laden work. I have witnessed him chastise people in Court for following his directions on how to leave the Court when the mule of a man forgot to tell a litigant to wait until after the opposing party left. His voice squeaks with non-sense and petty comments like a boy in puberty trying to figure out where to wait in the lunch line in 4th grade. He allows lawyers to tell one lie and then later change it to another lie all on the record and in orders and he does absolutely nothing. He sets matters for a hearing, but does not allow counsel to present evidence. A matter will be set and indicate on the Florida Court system that it involves one issue and then refuses to hear that issue. I truly believe he is not mentally and psychologically fit to be a judge presiding over cases involving minors. He has a sadistic bent which is evident as he scolds people unprofessionally and frankly in a pea brained manner only to grimace as he does it. He supports parental alienation and creates impossible mazes for parents to navigate. [redacted by Editor] He slothfully takes state pay as a "judge" and yet refuses to do his job and will allow perjury and fraud in his court without any recourse meaning it is not a court of oath. He will hear a fact pattern and see evidence of a crime and refuse to take action, but then create contempt for a litigant by setting matters multiple times and seeking in his laziness and bureaucratic ways to "wear down" the litigants. The state of Florida and people of Lee County would be best served if John S. Carlin were to st

He is passive-aggressive. He is a very mean person. He should not be a judge.