Steve Shannon

Stephen Charles "Steve" Shannon (born April 5, 1971) is former Democratic politician and American attorney who now serves as the Chief Judge of the Fairfax County Circuit Court in the 19th Judicial Circuit of Virginia.

From 2004 to 2009, Shannon represented Virginia's 35th District in the Virginia House of Delegates as a Democrat. He was the 2009 Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Virginia. He was defeated by his opponent, Republican Ken Cuccinelli.

Early life Shannon graduated from Fenwick High School in 1989, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fairfield University in 1993, a Master of Public Policy degree from Georgetown University in 1996, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1999 where he was a John M. Olin Fellow and Scholar in Law and Economics and a member of the Virginia Law Review.

In 2001, Shannon and his wife Abby co-founded the Metropolitan Washington AMBER (America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Plan, a local extension of the nationwide child recovery program. Shannon's plan for a regional AMBER system successfully coordinated local law enforcement, media, and community groups to create a rapid-response child recovery network. In recognition of this, the Shannons received Fairfax County's highest public service award.

Shannon served as Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney for Fairfax County where he worked with the state's chief felony prosecutor. Shannon devoted much of his time to consumer protection and child safety issues, frequently prosecuting criminals charged with assault, child molestation, rape and domestic violence. Additionally, Shannon prosecuted one of the state's largest embezzlement cases in an effort to combat institutional corruption.

From 2002 to 2003 Shannon served as Vice-Chairman of the Fairfax County Consumer Protection Commission, where he was responsible for protecting citizens from illegal, fraudulent or deceptive consumer practices. He was succeeded in the house by fellow Democrat Mark L. Keam.

Shannon introduced several public safety bills in the Virginia House of Delegates. These included stronger witness protections in cases of violent crime, increased penalties for gang-related violence, Reform of Emergency Response Plans in the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, and expansion of Virginia's Rape Shield Statute, and making it a crime to evade sex offender registration

Shannon introduced legislation intended to protect Virginians against identity theft – specifically requiring database managers to implement security measures to guard against unauthorized access to customer information.

In January 2009, Shannon responded to the economic crisis by introducing a bill with the intention of increasing government accountability, improving budget oversight, and reducing wasteful bureaucratic spending. Shannon's House Resolution was intended to repair the state's budget shortfalls, strongly recommending that the House of Delegates implement cost-saving measures which he deemed necessary.

2009 Virginia Attorney General Election Shannon ran as a Democrat for Virginia Attorney General in 2009. His platform included increased restrictions on sex offenders use of Social Networking services and several measures to deter drunk driving, and attempting to curb gang recruitment. He defeated attorney John P. Fishwick, Jr. in the Democratic primary. In the general election, his candidacy was endorsed by The Washington Post and The Virginian-Pilot. He was defeated by Republican candidate Ken Cuccinelli on November 3, 2009.

Electoral history Date Election Candidate Party Votes % Virginia House of Delegates, 35th district Nov 4, 2003 General S C Shannon Democratic 9,151 51.90 R M Mcdowell Republican 8,478 48.08 Write Ins 4 0.02 Jeannemarie Devolites Davis was elected to the Senate; seat switched from Republican to Democratic Nov 8, 2005 General S C Shannon Democratic 14,626 60.43 J E Hyland Republican 9,568 39.53 Write Ins 11 0.05 Nov 6, 2007 General Stephen C. Shannon Democratic 11,956 63.35 Arthur G. Purves Republican 6,900 36.56 Write Ins 15 0.07 Attorney General of Virginia Nov 3, 2009 General Ken T. Cuccinelli II Republican 1,124,137 57.51 Stephen C. Shannon Democratic 828,687 42.39 Write Ins 1,772 0.09 Bob McDonnell resigned to run for Governor; office stayed Republican

Post-political career After his defeat, Shannon worked at the law firm of Odin, Feldman & Pittleman, PC. On February 25, 2015, he was elected a judge of the Fairfax County Circuit Court. He has also taught as an adjunct professor at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School. In 2026, he was selected as the Chief Judge.