Brent D. Benjamin at a glance
- Current role
- Former Judge
- Court
- West Virginia Supreme Court
- Current assignment
- West Virginia Supreme Court
- Jurisdiction
- Virginia · State
- Judicial service
- Former
Brent D. Benjamin
Former Judge · West Virginia Supreme Court
Biography
Professional career
- Judge, West Virginia Supreme Court, 2005-present
- He left the court in January 2017 to return to private practice
- American attorney who held the role of a Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia from 2005 to 2016
- Began his 12‐year term on January 1, 2005, and held the role of Chief Justice in 2009 and again in 2013
- The first Republican elected to the West Virginia Supreme Court in over 80 years, defeating incumbent Justice Warren McGraw in the 2004 partisan election
- Justice Brent Benjamin, who previously ran as a Republican, was first elected to the W.Va
Education
- Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in — J.D. (1984)
- B.A. and J.D. from The Ohio State University (1981, 1984)
Additional information
- In 2016, under West Virginia’s new nonpartisan judicial election system, he ran for re‐election but finished fourth with 12.47% of the vote, losing to Beth Walker.
- Practitioner, 2004-2004
- Elected to that court in a partisan election in November 2004.
- Graduate of Leadership West Virginia (1999)
- Born July 3, 1957, Marietta, Ohio.
- Date of birth: 1957-07-03
- Awards and associations
- Before joining the court, Benjamin practiced for 20 years at Robinson and McElwee, PLLC in Charleston, WV
- handling general civil litigation, toxic torts, and complex cases, with a civil rights focus on child abuse prevention.
- Prior to joining the court, Benjamin practiced law with the firm of Robinson and McElwee, PLLC, for twenty years.
- He has also practiced in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, and the Kentucky Supreme Court.
- Member of the Hocking College Archaeological Mission, with excavations in the U.S. and Egypt
Applicable Court Rules & Procedures
Cell Phones And Electronic Devices
Statewide
Virginia courts commonly restrict cell phones and other electronic devices in court buildings; counsel and litigants should check the local court policy before arrival.
Most courts in Virginia do not allow you to bring a cell phone or other electronic device into the building.Cell Phone & Electronic Device Policy ↗
Sources
Identity source checked August 22, 2026.
Biography sources checked October 11, 2026.
West Virginia Supreme Court current judicial profile
Identity source · HTML · Source checked August 22, 2026
View West Virginia Supreme Court current judicial profile ↗Cell Phone & Electronic Device Policy
Statewide source · HTML · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Cell Phone & Electronic Device Policy ↗