Kenneth Davis Bell Sr.
Appointed by President Donald J. Trump in 2019 and confirmed by the Senate 55–43, Kenneth Davis Bell Sr. is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. He earned a law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1983. Sources ↓
- Born
- 1958 · age 68
- Appointed by
- Donald J. Trump, 2019
- Confirmed
- 55–43
- Education
- Wake Forest 1980 · Wake Forest Law 1983
- Succeeded
- Richard Lesley Voorhees
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Western District of North Carolina succeeded Richard Lesley Voorhees | Trump (R) | 55–43 |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own.
Confirmation vote
Nomination Confirmed 55–43 on May 22, 2019 · 116th Congress, Roll Call 126. Each senator links to their judicial-voting record.
Voted to confirm · 55
3 D, 52 R
- Lamar Alexander(R-TN)
- John Barrasso(R-WY)
- Marsha Blackburn(R-TN)
- Roy Blunt(R-MO)
- John Boozman(R-AR)
- Mike Braun(R-IN)
- Richard Burr(R-NC)
- Shelley Capito(R-WV)
- Bill Cassidy(R-LA)
- Susan Collins(R-ME)
- John Cornyn(R-TX)
- Tom Cotton(R-AR)
- Kevin Cramer(R-ND)
- Mike Crapo(R-ID)
- Ted Cruz(R-TX)
- Steve Daines(R-MT)
- Mike Enzi(R-WY)
- Joni Ernst(R-IA)
- Deb Fischer(R-NE)
- Cory Gardner(R-CO)
- Lindsey Graham(R-SC)
- Charles Grassley(R-IA)
- Josh Hawley(R-MO)
- John Hoeven(R-ND)
- Cindy Hyde-Smith(R-MS)
- Jim Inhofe(R-OK)
- John Isakson(R-GA)
- Ron Johnson(R-WI)
- Doug Jones(D-AL)
- John Kennedy(R-LA)
- James Lankford(R-OK)
- Mike Lee(R-UT)
- Joseph Manchin(D-WV)
- Mitch McConnell(R-KY)
- Martha McSally(R-AZ)
- Jerry Moran(R-KS)
- Lisa Murkowski(R-AK)
- Rand Paul(R-KY)
- David Perdue(R-GA)
- Rob Portman(R-OH)
- James Risch(R-ID)
- Pat Roberts(R-KS)
- Mitt Romney(R-UT)
- Mike Rounds(R-SD)
- Marco Rubio(R-FL)
- Ben Sasse(R-NE)
- Rick Scott(R-FL)
- Tim Scott(R-SC)
- Richard Shelby(R-AL)
- Kyrsten Sinema(D-AZ)
- Dan Sullivan(R-AK)
- John Thune(R-SD)
- Patrick Toomey(R-PA)
- Roger Wicker(R-MS)
- Todd Young(R-IN)
Voted against · 43
41 D, 2 I
- Tammy Baldwin(D-WI)
- Michael Bennet(D-CO)
- Richard Blumenthal(D-CT)
- Cory Booker(D-NJ)
- Sherrod Brown(D-OH)
- Maria Cantwell(D-WA)
- Ben Cardin(D-MD)
- Thomas Carper(D-DE)
- Bob Casey(D-PA)
- Christopher Coons(D-DE)
- Catherine Cortez Masto(D-NV)
- Tammy Duckworth(D-IL)
- Richard Durbin(D-IL)
- Dianne Feinstein(D-CA)
- Kirsten Gillibrand(D-NY)
- Maggie Hassan(D-NH)
- Martin Heinrich(D-NM)
- Mazie Hirono(D-HI)
- Timothy Kaine(D-VA)
- Angus King(I-ME)
- Amy Klobuchar(D-MN)
- Patrick Leahy(D-VT)
- Edward Markey(D-MA)
- Robert Menendez(D-NJ)
- Jeff Merkley(D-OR)
- Christopher Murphy(D-CT)
- Patty Murray(D-WA)
- Gary Peters(D-MI)
- Jack Reed(D-RI)
- Jacklyn Rosen(D-NV)
- Bernard Sanders(I-VT)
- Brian Schatz(D-HI)
- Charles Schumer(D-NY)
- Jeanne Shaheen(D-NH)
- Tina Smith(D-MN)
- Debbie Stabenow(D-MI)
- Jon Tester(D-MT)
- Tom Udall(D-NM)
- Chris Van Hollen(D-MD)
- Mark Warner(D-VA)
- Elizabeth Warren(D-MA)
- Sheldon Whitehouse(D-RI)
- Ron Wyden(D-OR)
Did not vote · 2
1 D, 1 R
- Kamala Harris(D-CA)
- Thomas Tillis(R-NC)
Education
| Wake Forest University | B.A. | 1980 |
| Wake Forest University School of Law | J.D. | 1983 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Bell was assigned 1,899 district-court cases (1982–2026). Median time from filing to termination: 151 days across 1,237 closed cases.
Case assignment is from CourtListener’s PACER-derived docket records: a partial sample, not a complete caseload, reflecting the judge last assigned each case. How we count.
On appeal
Of 138 of Bell’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 112 were affirmed, 21 reversed or vacated, and 5 affirmed in part and reversed in part. This is a historical count of appellate outcomes for cases we could match, not a judgment of the judge, and not a complete record. How we count.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed Kenneth Davis Bell Sr.?
- President Donald J. Trump appointed Kenneth Davis Bell Sr. to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina in 2019.
- Was Kenneth Davis Bell Sr. appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Kenneth Davis Bell Sr. was appointed by President Donald J. Trump, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Kenneth Davis Bell Sr.'s confirmation vote?
- The Senate confirmed Kenneth Davis Bell Sr. 55–43 on May 22, 2019.
- Which court is Kenneth Davis Bell Sr. on?
- Kenneth Davis Bell Sr. is a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: screenshot of video by US Senate Judiciary Committee (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- Confirmation roll-call (Senate.gov, 2019)
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
7 years on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).