Judge Robert Charles "Chuck" Chambers served 10 years as the 53rd speaker of the House of Delegates (1987—96), the longest tenure in that office in state history. Nominated by President Bill Clinton as a federal judge for the southern district of West Virginia in June of 1997, Chambers was sworn in October 17, 1997, at the age of 45. He replaced Judge Elizabeth Hallanan who had moved to senior status the previous year.

Born August 27, 1952, in Matewan, a son of James E. and Geraldine Kiser Chambers, Judge Chambers lives in Huntington. He received a bachelor's degree in political science from Marshall University in 1974 and a law degree from West Virginia University in 1978. He served as legal counsel to the West Virginia Senate in 1978. He was first elected to the House of Delegates in 1978 from Cabell County and reelected to eight successive two-year terms until he retired from the legislature in 1996. He served two years as chairman of the House judiciary committee (1985—86), and the following year became the youngest speaker of the House of Delegates in West Virginia history. Chambers began private law practice in Huntington with his father in 1978 and was in law practice with Guy Bucci in Charleston when he received his lifetime appointment as a federal judge. He served as co-chairman of the state Democratic Party briefly before resigning in 1996 when he was recommended for the federal judiciary.