Robert Holmes Bell

Who is Robert Holmes Bell?

Robert Holmes Bell is a United States federal judge.

Born in Lansing, Michigan, Bell received a B.A. from Wheaton College in 1966 and a J.D. from Wayne State University Law School in 1969. He was an assistant county prosecuting attorney for Ingham County, Michigan from 1969 to 1973 and then became a judge, first on the Ingham District Court in Mason, Michigan from 1973 to 1979, and then on the Ingham County Circuit Court in Lansing, Michigan from 1979 to 1987.

On March 11, 1987, Bell was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan vacated by Wendell Alverson Miles. Bell was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 1, 1987, and received his commission the following day. He served as chief judge from 2001 to 2008. His son is the pastor and author Rob Bell.