Hon. Joan Sinclair See Rating Details
Superior Court Judge
Superior Court
Maricopa County
See Comments
Phoenix

Attorney Average Rating:   2.2 - 4 rating(s)
Non-Attorney Average Rating:   3.0 - 7 rating(s)
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Only items marked with (*) are averaged into the displayed overall rating.


General Rating Criteria

* Temperament (1=Awful,10=Excellent)
* Scholarship (1=Awful,10=Excellent)
* Industriousness (1=Not at all industrious,10=Highly industrious)
* Ability to Handle Complex Litigation (1=Awful,10=Excellent)
* Punctuality (1=Chronically Late,10=Always on Time)
* General Ability to Handle Pre-Trial Matters (1=Not all Able, 10=Extremely Able)
* General Ability as a Trial Judge (1=Not all Able, 10=Extremely Able)
Flexibility In Scheduling (1=Completely Inflexible,10=Very Flexible)


Criminal Rating Criteria (if applicable)

* Evenhandedness in Criminal Litigation (1=Demonstrates Bias,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
General Inclination Regarding Bail (1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)
Involvement in Plea Discussions (1=Not at all Involved, 10=Very Involved)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Pretrial Stage (1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Trial Stage (1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Sentencing Stage (1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)


Civil Rating Criteria (if applicable)

* Evenhandedness in Civil Litigation (1=Not at all Evenhanded,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
Involvement in Settlement Discussions (1=Not at all Involved,10=Very Involved)
General Inclination (1=Pro-defendant, 10=Pro-plaintiff)
Comments


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What others have said about Hon. Joan Sinclair


Comments


Litigant

Comment #: AZ2471
Rating:1.0
Comments:
I found judge Sinclair. Nice in the court room, but I believe she was ignorant & unprepared in studying & reviewing the case. She awarded judgements to the plantiff that are illegal in the state if Arizona. She awarded money to a construction company that was note licensed with the ROC to complete. The structure was removed & was aware that the company 1. Was not licensed to perform the duty 2. That there was a safety issue requiring the item to be demolished. The other item is she awarded tax that was brought up that was the wrong because it wasn’t taxed properly (2k more). She also awarded the plantiff on items that were already paid to the expert on the depo. It was a duplicate charge. I believe she doesn’t deserve to be a judge. I felt like she was there just for a paycheck. She is a huge NO on my ballot. There was absolutely no fairness from this judge. This judge would bankrupt & even cause some serious damage financially to someone with her rulings.

Court Staff

Comment #: AZ2213
Rating:2.0
Comments:
This judge should be criminally liable for the way she refuses to help children. There have been many downright cruel things I have seen her do, but perhaps the most cruel thing was how she cut child support down to $50 a month for a woman with 3 kids...while this woman was in a domestic violence shelter in the middle of the pandemic, and while the fully employed father and abuser sat up in their 3 bedroom house. It is my firm belief that she fully believes that the parent with the highest salary is the one who deserves to have the children, regardless to whether or not that parent is actually harming the child(ren). I can fully vouch for the fact that she does, indeed, heavily rely on 50/50 support and I know that she does this because it's the option that requires the least amount of work for her. She does not care about the welfare of children and she will not do anything at all to help them unless the parent who actually cares about the children has the money to retain legal counsel, but if the best interest of the children lies with the parent with the lesser amount of money, then God help their little souls, because she will only work to be fair if/when legal counsel makes her do so.

Litigant

Comment #: AZ2210
Rating:10.0
Comments:
Very fair. Does not allow slander. Listens closely. Asks fair questions. Applies the Law. Her ruling in my case was in the best interests of child above the adults agendas. The case was handed over to a new judge. The next judge said he would not disrupt her Temp Orders but he did. He was bias and unfair. But Judge Joan Sinclair was absolutely the one I wish would have finished my case.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: AZ2204
Rating:1.0
Comments:
This woman is the worst! She cares absolutely nothing about children and I am completely convinced this entire "criminal justice" system is an absolute joke. She split up my sister's children and has them going halfway across town for 3 days a week - IN THE MIDDLE OF A SCHOOL WEEK! LIKE, how does even the average idiot think this would be to the best interest of any child. Also, I think she has a hard on for fathers, there's something seriously wrong going on with her.

Other

Comment #: AZ2187
Rating:1.0
Comments:
There is absolutely nothing honorable about Joan Sinclair. She awards 50/50 regardless to the fact that one parent is a drug abusing, sociopath who lies, submits photoshopped documents, and worst of all, has a history of domestic violence against the other parent. She is supposed to be the "smart one" of the three, but yet she continuously keeps getting outsmarted by a lying felon with a CRIMINAL HISTORY OF FRAUD! It's almost as if this woman hates black children and wants to put them in harms way...of course she was appointed by Governor Jan Brewer, she was put there to carry out their legacy of racism and indifference to black and brown children.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: AZ2149
Rating:1.4
Comments:
This judge is reckless to say the least. She will rule 50/50 with no consideration of age of infant, breastfeeding, parental fitness, mental health, drug abuse. If you have any real safety concerns about the other parent then pass on this judge before any trials are set. You will only waste your time and money because even with expert witnesses, failed and missed drug tests, recordings of emotional instability it won’t matter. She will refuse to order psych evaluations, best interest attorneys or any investigation of parental fitness. She completely lacks concern for safety of children.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: AZ2031
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Judge Sinclair has absolutely no regulars for the best interest of any child. Whomever has the best lawyer, gets their way. Sucks for the parent that can’t afford one. She will award 50/50 to make her job easier in the hopes that one parent gives up. She completely disregards all red flags and important PROVEN information that puts children directly in harms way, all because one parent hired a bomb ass lawyer whom is even lower than the judge as they will do anything for a dollar including defend a child abuser...pray for our world today. It’s all money and politics.

Other

Comment #: AZ2030
Rating:1.0
Comments:
Judge Sinclair seems to be unable to decipher legitimate emergency situations regarding custody. I Submitted my petition for emergency temporary custody for a COVID-19 scenario where the kids are living in the same house as their infected mother and I was holding on to proof that the mother admitted to testing positive. The judge ruled the case a non-emergency and refused to hear.

She apparently, believes it is ok for kids to live in an environment that the CDC says is high risk. When the advisement from the judicial branch of Maricopa County clearly states parents should consider modifying existing orders temporarily, including suspending parenting time for a period of 14 days.

Other

Comment #: AZ2023
Rating:1.0
Comments:
This judge ordered my best friend and her 4 kids in o stay in Arizona and gave the drug addict dad with no job (who kicked out his own kids and their mother onto the streets) 50% custody. This only happens because my friend was unable to afford an attorney so the dishonorable judge Joan Sinclair took advantage of this young woman and made things easier on herself, I guess less paperwork for her. This court system is rigged and unfair and need to be changed immediately! She clearly doesn’t care about the welfare of children and should be fired ASAP. Just look at all the bad reviews, will no one step up for the children? I certainly hope it’s not racial, my friend, her kids and their drug riddled dad are black...

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: AZ1945
Rating:5.5
Comments:
Judge doesn't care about child support enforcement at all, whether to arrears or current child support. Rarely awards legal fees for such matters. Pretty sad.

Other

Comment #: AZ1845
Rating:10.0
Comments:
We haven’t received our ruling yet but our overall experience in the court room was great. Neither of us had an attorney and we weren’t quite sure how things would work. Judge Sinclair was very nice and helpful and walked us through exactly what we needed to do. She listened to both sides and didn’t show any unfairness to either party. I feel like she genuinely has the children’s best interest at heart and isn’t making a ruling based on satisfying mom or dad.