Hon. Michael John Aloi is a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of West Virginia. After graduating from the West Virginia University College of Law, he worked in private practice for the next 28 years. As one of the founders of the state’s mediation movement, he remains the only lawyer in in the state to be elected to the American College of Civil Trial Mediators. Judge Aloi was appointed circuit judge in 2011 and helped establish the Marion County Drug Court. In 2015, he was appointed as a U.S. Magistrate Judge, where he helped establish the first federal drug court in Clarksburg, as well as the first veterans diversion program, where he continues to serve.

For more than 20 years, Judge Aloi has served as a clinic supervisor and now adjunct professor at the WVU College of Law. He serves on the boards of the Federal Magistrate Judges Association and the West Virginia Judicial and Lawyer Assistance Program. He also served on the West Virginia Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being and is a member of the advisory group for the West Virginia Restorative Justice Project. Judge Aloi served as president of the West Virginia State Bar Association and the Association for Conflict Resolution. He is a SAMHSA-certified trainer for trauma-informed responses in the criminal justice system. His personal mission is to foster a more compassionate, humane, effective justice system for those impacted by substance use and mental health disorders.