Robert Holmes Bell

Robert Holmes Bell (born 1944) is a United States federal judge.

Born in Lansing, Michigan, Bell received a B.A. from Wheaton College in 1966.[1] At Wheaton, Bell lettered in track each year.[2]

Bell received his J.D. from Wayne State University Law School in 1969.[1] 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.[1]

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.[1] Bell was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 1, 1987, and received his commission the following day.[1] He served as chief judge from 2001 to 2008.[1]

Chief Justice John Roberts appointed Bell to serve as chairman of the criminal law committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States. In that post, Bell wrote a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2013 opposing mandatory minimum sentences, saying they produce "unjust results" and waste public funds.[2][3][4]

Bell met his wife, Helen, while both were students at Wheaton.[2] They have a son, Rob Bell, the founding pastor of the Mars Hill Bible Church megachurch, and a daughter, Ruth Bell Olsson.[2]

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Legal offices
Preceded by
Wendell Alverson Miles
Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan
1987–present
Incumbent
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