Robert M. Bell

Honorable Robert M. Bell
23rd Chief Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals
In office 1996 – July 6, 2013
Nominated by	Parris Glendening
Preceded by	Robert C. Murphy
Succeeded by	Mary Ellen Barbera
Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals
In office 1991 – July 6, 2013
Appointed by	William Donald Schaefer
Preceded by	Harry A. Cole
Succeeded by	Shirley M. Watts
Judge of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals
In office 1984–1991
Appointed by	Harry R. Hughes
Succeeded by	Diana Gribbon Motz
Associate Judge of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City
In office 1980–1984
Appointed by	Harry R. Hughes
Associate Judge of the Maryland District Court for District 1, Baltimore City
In office 1975–1980
Appointed by	Marvin Mandel
Personal details
Born	Robert Mack Bell (1943-07-06) July 6, 1943 (age 81) Rocky Mount, North Carolina, U.S.
Alma mater	Morgan State College (AB) Harvard Law School (JD)

Robert Mack Bell (born July 6, 1943) is an American lawyer and jurist from Baltimore, Maryland. From 1996 to 2013, he served as Chief Judge on the Maryland Court of Appeals, now known as the Supreme Court of Maryland, the state's highest appellate court. He was the first African American to hold the position.

At 16 years old, Bell was the lead plaintiff in Bell v. Maryland, a case that ultimately helped push the U.S. toward desegregation.^[1] Bell served as a judge at every level of the Maryland court system; and on July 6, 2013, reached the state's mandatory retirement age of 70 years for appellate and circuit court judges.