Lonnie C. Simmons
Experience:
43 years
Lonnie C. Simmons | Attorney
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About Lonnie
Lonnie C. Simmons began his legal career in 1982 as a writ clerk at the West Virginia Supreme Court. From 1983-1988, he served as a personal clerk for West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Thomas B. Miller. For the last fifteen years, Mr. Simmons has been actively engaged in practicing law, mostly on behalf of injured plaintiffs.
Mr. Simmons is well recognized as a pioneer in the field of DNA testing, for his work to free an innocent person, Glen Dale Woodall, from prison. Prior to Mr. Simmons work, courts did not recognize or allow the use of DNA evidence, but Mr. Simmons was able to convince the West Virginia Supreme Court of the value and reliability of DNA testing in one of first cases of its kind in the country. His representation of Mr. Woodall, whose case was featured on the 48 Hours television program and is included in the book Actual Innocence by Barry Scheck, Peter Neufeld, and Jim Dwyer, not only resulted in Mr. Woodall's freedom, but his work also led to a $1,000,000 wrongful conviction settlement from the State of West Virginia. The important facts and law developed by Mr. Simmons during this representation triggered an investigation into the work performed by Fred S. Zain, who was the chief serologist for the West Virginia State Police. Mr. Simmons DNA litigation on behalf of Mr. Woodall led to the exposure of numerous instances of false and faulty work by Mr. Zain, which ultimately led to the release from prison of other wrongly convicted innocent people. His pioneering work in convincing courts to allow the use of DNA evidence had national impact, as all courts in the United States now allow the use of DNA evidence in appropriate cases.
Over the course of his career, Mr. Simmons has obtained significant recoveries in a diverse range of claims, including wrongful conviction, police misconduct, or other civil rights violations. As a member of the West Virginia Employment Lawyers Association, Mr. Simmons is experienced in representing and trying cases involving employees wrongfully fired from their jobs, based upon disability, age, sex, or other types of discrimination. He also teaches seminars for other lawyers addressing employment issues. A significant part of his law practice involves appealing decisions from the circuit courts to the West Virginia Supreme Court. As an appellate lawyer, Mr. Simmons successfully has prosecuted a substantial number of appeals before the West Virginia Supreme Court, including appeals of wrongful death verdicts, employment discrimination claims, personal injury actions, and criminal convictions.
Mr. Simmons is listed in The Best Lawyers in America, and also was selected for inclusion in the 2009 West Virginia Super Lawyers in the "Employment Litigation: Plaintiff" category.
Admission
West Virginia
1982
Education
West Virginia University
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