Robert D. Bell (born May 11, 1967) was born and raised in
Norman, Oklahoma
Norman () is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, 3rd most populous city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,026 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the most populous city and the county seat of Clevel ...
. He earned two law degrees, one in his home state and the second in North Carolina. He then spent 13 years in private practice in his hometown while also serving as a municipal judge in 5 towns and cities of Oklahoma. First appointed a judge in 1994, he was then the youngest sitting judge of any kind in the state. In 2005, he was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, a position he still holds to this after winning votes on retention in 2006, 2012 and 2018.
Bell's most notable ruling occurred in ''Ward & Lee, P.L.C. v. City of Claremore'', where the appeals panel overturned a lower court decision because the police had refused to release the patrol car's dash-cam video of a DUI arrest. Judge Bell showed that the evidence in question was not exempted from the Open Records Act, as claimed by the police, and must be released on request.
Early life and education
Robert D. Bell was born to Bobby and Jaynee Bell in Norman, Oklahoma on May 11, 1967, Raised in Norman, he graduated from
Norman High School
Norman High School is a four-year Public school (government funded), public high school in Norman, Oklahoma, with a steady enrollment of approximately 2,000 students. It is accredited by North Central Association, the Oklahoma State Department ...
, then earned a
Bachelor of Arts degree
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...
from the
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...
in 1989. He earned his
Juris Doctor
A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
(J.D.) from the
University of Tulsa College of Law
The University of Tulsa College of Law is the law school of the private University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. For 2023, ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranked the University of Tulsa College of Law at No. 111 among all law schools in the United S ...
in 1992. He earned an award in law school for distinguished service to the House of Delegates, in recognition of being elected to office all three years of school."Robert D. Bell." Oklahoma Civil Justice Council. Accessed May 6, 2018. Later, Bell also earned the
LL.M.
A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject.
In many jurisdi ...
from the
Duke University School of Law
The Duke University School of Law is the law school of Duke University, a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law is a constituent academic unit that began in 1868 as the ...
."Robert D. Bell." Ballotpedia. Undated. Accessed May 19, 2018.
Professional career
Bell returned to Norman, where he spent 13 years in private law practice. During that time, he also served as municipal judge for the cities of
Blanchard
Blanchard is a French family name. It is also used as a given name. It derives from the Old French word ''blanchart'' which meant "whitish, bordering upon white". It is also an obsolete term for a white horse.
Geographical distribution
As of 2014, ...
Moore
Moore may refer to:
Language
* Mooré language, spoken in West Africa
People
* Moore (surname)
** List of people with surname Moore
* Moore Crosthwaite (1907–1989), a British diplomat and ambassador
* Moore Disney (1765–1846), a senior ...
,
Noble
A noble is a member of the nobility.
Noble may also refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Noble Glacier, King George Island
* Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land
* Noble Peak, Wiencke Island
* Noble Rocks, Graham Land
Australia
* Noble Island, Gr ...
and
Purcell
Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version of Shakespeare's ...
. He has also served as an adjunct professor for the
University of Oklahoma College of Law
The University of Oklahoma College of Law is the law school of the University of Oklahoma. It is located on the University's campus in Norman, Oklahoma. The College of Law was founded in 1909 by a resolution of the OU Board of Regents.
Accordi ...
since 1998 and
Oklahoma City University School of Law
Oklahoma City University School of Law, also known as OCU Law, is the law school of Oklahoma City University. OCU Law is located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and was founded in 1907. OCU Law was located in the Sarkeys Law Center on t ...
since 2021.
Governor
Brad Henry
Charles Bradford Henry (born July 10, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 26th governor of Oklahoma from 2003 to 2011. A Democrat, he previously served in the Oklahoma Senate from 1992 to 2003. As of 2025, he is the last ...
appointed Bell as a judge of the
Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals
The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals is an intermediate appellate court in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma. Cases are assigned to it by the Oklahoma Supreme Court, the state's highest court for Civil law (common law), civil matters. He was retained in this office in the election of 2006. He was Chief Judge of the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals in 2011. He was retained as judge in the November 2012 election with a retain vote of 65.9 percent. He ran again for re-election in November 2018, and won retention with 61.9 percent of the vote.
''Ward & Lee, P.L.C. v. City of Claremore''
It often seems that appellate judges do not hear cases that result in opinions which may have lasting legal impacts. However, it seems that an exception occurred in the case ''Ward & Lee, P.L.C. v. City of Claremore'' 316 P.3d 225, which came before the OCCA on May 31, 2013. Robert D. Bell presided over the three-judge panel and wrote the majority opinion."Ward & Lee, P.L.C. v. City of Claremore." Westlaw. 2018. Accessed May 19, 2018. The case was appealed after Judge Sheila A. Condren had ruled against Ward & Lee's client, Richard Stangland, who had been arrested for DUI by a Claremore Police Department (CPD) officer.
The core issue in this case was the refusal of the CPD to release the dash-cam video of the arrest (along with certain other items of evidence), so that Attorney Lee could present them at the lower court trial. CPD replied that it adhered to a policy written by Police Chief in 2011, stating that evidence such as dash cam videos and audios were not public records and must not be released for any reason without his specific approval. After reviewing the laws relevant to this topic, Judge Bell found that the CDP policy violated the Oklahoma Open Records Act, which specifically stated that such evidence constituted a public record and cannot be withheld."
This determination resulted in the Civil Appeals Court overturning the District Court verdict, which was directed to retry the case with the formerly missing evidence. The appeals verdict also noted that, "...any person denied access to a public record and who successfully brings a civil action for declarative or injunctive relief is entitled to reasonable attorney fees. Fabian, 2004 OK 67 at ¶ 19, 100 P.3d at 707." The appellate court further ordered the District Court to determine the "reasonable attorney's fees to which the appellant is entitled.
Judge Buettner concurred with Judge Bell. Judge Joplin dissented. No explanation of either vote is available. The 2-1 verdict was sufficient to win for the appellant.
Personal
Judge Bell is a member of Christ the King
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
in Oklahoma City. He is married and has two children.