---
title: "Brent D. Benjamin | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/brent-d-benjamin-6011"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-08-22"
---

# Brent D. Benjamin

West Virginia Supreme Court · Judge

## Profile

- Court: West Virginia Supreme Court
- State: Virginia
- Role: Judge
- Service status: former
- Last verified: 2026-08-22

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## 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

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### cell phones and electronic devices

Scope: 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.

Evidence excerpt: 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](https://selfhelp.vacourts.gov/node/30/cell-phone-electronic-device-policy)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/6011/brent-d-benjamin/)
- [Official roster](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/6011/brent-d-benjamin/)
- [West Virginia Supreme Court current judicial profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/6011/brent-d-benjamin/)
- [Cell Phone & Electronic Device Policy](https://selfhelp.vacourts.gov/node/30/cell-phone-electronic-device-policy)
- [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/6011/brent-d-benjamin/)
- [Brent Benjamin - Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Brent_Benjamin)
- [On the Campaign Trail: Justice Brent Benjamin, state Supreme Court ...](https://wvmetronews.com/2016/04/19/on-the-campaign-trail-justice-brent-benjamin-state-supreme-court-candidate)

## JSON-LD

```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "WebPage",
      "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/brent-d-benjamin-6011",
      "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/brent-d-benjamin-6011",
      "name": "Brent D. Benjamin | KnowJudges",
      "description": "Brent D. Benjamin, West Virginia Supreme Court. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.",
      "dateModified": "2026-08-22",
      "isPartOf": {
        "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website"
      },
      "mainEntity": {
        "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/brent-d-benjamin-6011#judge"
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Person",
      "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/brent-d-benjamin-6011#judge",
      "name": "Brent D. Benjamin",
      "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/brent-d-benjamin-6011",
      "jobTitle": "Judge",
      "worksFor": {
        "@type": "GovernmentOrganization",
        "name": "West Virginia Supreme Court"
      },
      "sameAs": [
        "https://www.courtlistener.com/person/6011/brent-d-benjamin/"
      ],
      "birthDate": "1957-07-03",
      "alumniOf": [
        {
          "@type": "EducationalOrganization",
          "name": "Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in 1984"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
      "itemListElement": [
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 1,
          "name": "KnowJudges",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 2,
          "name": "Virginia",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/virginia"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 3,
          "name": "Brent D. Benjamin",
          "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/brent-d-benjamin-6011"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```