Robert Holmes Bell (April 19, 1944 – June 8, 2023) was an American lawyer and United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan from 1987 to 2017. Before assuming the role, he worked as an attorney and judge in Michigan. Bell became a senior judge in 2017, a role which he served until his death in 2023. His son is Rob Bell, the founder of the Mars Hill Bible Church.
Robert Holmes Bell
Michigan Western District Court
Chief Judge — U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan
Born 1944 in Lansing, MI
Died 2023
FJC ID: 148
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 9/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 29/year
Michigan Western District Court · 1987–2023
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
- Ingham County [Michigan] Circuit CourtJudge · 1979–1987
- Ingham County [Michigan] District CourtJudge · 1973–1979
- Ingham County, MichiganAssistant prosecutor · 1969–1973
Appointments
1987–2023 · Appointed by Ronald Reagan (Republican)Term ended: Death
Education
J.D. · 1969- Wheaton College, IllinoisB.A. · 1966