Judge Shawn David Nines was appointed in December 2018 to a new seat in the circuit that includes Barbour and Taylor Counties, and he took office on January 2, 2019. He was elected in 2020 and re-elected in 2024 to the renumbered Twenty-Third Judicial Circuit (Barbour and Taylor Counties).

Judge Nines is one of seven circuit judges currently serving on West Virginia's Business Court, which handles complex cases involving corporate/business entities across the state. He is also active in the West Virginia Judicial Association.

Before he was appointed to the bench, Judge Nines was an attorney with his own law practice in Grafton and also served at different times as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Taylor County and Barbour County (2007-2018). He previously was City Attorney for Grafton, a lawyer for Huddleston Bolen LLP, and was a law clerk for Circuit Judge Alan Moats (2003-2005). He is a registered Patent Attorney with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Judge Nines has a 1998 bachelor’s degree and a 2000 master’s degree in petroleum and natural gas engineering from West Virginia University and a 2003 law degree from the University of Akron Law School.

While he was in private practice, he was assistant football and strength training coach at Grafton High School. He was also the play-by-play broadcaster for Grafton High School football games on WGYE Radio and its affiliated stations.

He and his wife, Donette, live in Thornton and have young twins.