Rate My Professor Charles Shields

Charles A. Shields is Professor of Criminal Justice and Chair of the Department of Social Sciences at Fairmont State University, where he has taught since 1988, progressing through adjunct instructor, temporary instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, to full professor in 2008. He earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence from West Virginia University College of Law in 1987, serving on the Moot Court Board and interning at the Federal Correctional Institution in Morgantown, and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice with a minor in History from Marshall University in 1983. Shields brings extensive practical legal experience to his teaching, having served as Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Marion County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office since 2005, managing partner at Wilson & Shields, L.C. focusing on criminal law and juvenile justice from 1991 to 2004, special prosecutor under Chief Judge Thomas Bedell in 1996-1997, and associate at Rose, Padden & Petty, L.C. from 1987 to 1991.

Shields teaches core criminal justice courses including Criminal Law, Adjudication Process, Criminal Evidence, Criminal Procedure (Laws of Arrest, Search & Seizure), Mock Trial, Crime and Justice in West Virginia, Legal Research, and graduate-level courses such as Constitutional Law, Advanced Criminal Law, and Seminar in Law Enforcement. He has advised 60-75 criminal justice majors, Pi Gamma Mu National Social Science Honor Society, Pre-law Society, and serves as Fairmont State’s registered pre-law advisor with LSDAS and LSAC. His university service is extensive, including Faculty Senate President from 2007-2016 and 2020-present, membership on numerous committees including Personnel, Admissions & Credits, Strategic Planning, and search committees for various departments. Shields was awarded a sabbatical in spring 2017 to obtain specialized certification in Criminal Justice Administration from California University of Pennsylvania via the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. He holds memberships in the West Virginia State Bar, Marion County Bar, West Virginia Criminal Justice Educators’ Association (past president), and Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and is admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, Pennsylvania and D.C. bars, and certified as a Divorce/Family Mediator. His community service includes leadership roles on boards of the North Central West Virginia American Red Cross, Marion County Habitat for Humanity, and Family Services.