Griffin Boyette Bell (October 31, 1918 – January 5, 2009) was the 72nd Attorney General of the United States, having served under President Jimmy Carter. Previously, he was a U.S. circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Griffin Boyette Bell
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
Born 1918 in Americus, GA
Died 2009 in Atlanta, GA
FJC ID: 145
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 39/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 417/year
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals · 1962–1976
Both charts share the same year axis. Opinion counts include only opinions in our corpus attributed to this judge so far — a year at zero can mean an attribution gap, not judicial silence. Influence typically outlasts the career: citations keep climbing after the last opinion.
- Gender
- Male
- Race
- White
Prior employment
- Private practice, Atlanta, Georgia1953–1961, 1976, 1979–2009
Attorney General of the United States1977–1979
Board member · 1973–1976- Gov. Ernest Vandiver, GeorgiaChief of staff · 1959–1961
- Private practice, Rome, Georgia1952–1953
- Private practice, Savannah, Georgia1948–1952
Appointments
1962–1976 · Appointed by John F. Kennedy (Democratic)Term ended: Resignation
Education
- Mercer University School of LawLL.B. · 1948