The Hon. Lynn Tepper (Ret.) was a judge for the 6th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. Tepper was elected to the bench in 1988. She retired at the conclusion of her term in 2019.
The 6th Judicial Circuit encompasses Pasco County and Pinellas County. Tepper held assignments in the Family Division. She also presided over a problem-solving drug court on her own initiative, prior to the establishment of the Pasco County Drug Court. Due to her innovative approach to domestic relations matters, Tepper appeared on various television shows such as Nightline, Oprah Winfrey, and Montel Williams.
Prior to her election, Tepper was a judge for the Pasco County Court, a position to which she was named in 1984. Before that, she was an attorney in private practice (1980 to 1984) as well as an assistant public defender (1977 to 1980).
She graduated with her B.A. from Bard College in 1974. Tepper went on to earn a J.D. from Stetson University College of Law in 1977.
After graduating from law school, Tepper began her legal career as a judicial law clerk to the Hon. Alexander L. Paskay, former Chief Bankruptcy Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Her memberships have included the Florida Gender Bias Study Commission, the Florida Bench/Bar Commission, the Florida Domestic Violence Implementation Task Force, The Florida Bar Legal Needs of Children's Commission, the Steering Committee on Families and Children in Courts, and the Florida Supreme Court Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution.
She is a recipient of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Humanitarian Award (2009), the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Florida Association of Community Corrections (2008), the Public Citizen of the Year Award from the Florida Literacy Coalition (1994), the Florida Public Official of the Year Award from the Adult and Community Education (ACE), and the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Florida Animal Control Association (1988).
When not presiding over legal proceedings, she enjoys snow skiing, traveling, and reading.