Judge Michael Simms was elected to the bench in the Twenty-First Judicial Circuit (Monongalia County) in 2024 and took office on January 1, 2025.

Judge Simms was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, and raised in Wirt and Calhoun Counties.  He is the son of a public-school teacher and a solo practice attorney. He is a 2000 graduate of West Virginia University, earning a bachelor’s degree in political science/pre-law, and a 2005 graduate of California Western School of Law in San Diego, California.

After graduation, Judge Simms returned to West Virginia to work with his father, Alan Simms, as an Associate at Simms Law Office in Elizabeth, West Virginia. In 2007, Judge Simms moved to Morgantown and opened Simms Law Office, a solo practice focusing on criminal defense, student disciplinary defense, administrative law, and general civil litigation.

Judge Simms was appointed as a Commissioner of the Court in 2019 in the then Seventeenth Judicial Circuit (Monongalia County) and was appointed in 2021 to establish and lead the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Public Defender Corporation.

He is the 2006 recipient of the Wiley W. Manual Award for Pro Bono Legal Services, and the 2023 recipient of the John A. “Jack” Rogers Award for Outstanding Leadership in Public Service.  He is also a former Big Brother Big Sisters of America youth mentor; a former Board Member of Senior Monongalians, Inc.; the former pro bono attorney for Aspire Services, Inc.; and a member of Cheat Lake Rotary.  

Judge Simms and his wife have two children. His interests include running, cycling, and international travel with his family.