District of Minnesota / Appointed 1933 / Served to 1964
Portrait of Robert Cook Bell

Robert Cook Bell

Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota

Appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 and confirmed by voice vote, Robert Cook Bell was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. He earned a law degree from University of Missouri School of Law in 1908. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓

Lived
1880–1964
Appointed by
Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933
Confirmed
by voice vote
Education
University of Missouri Law 1908

Federal judicial service

YearCourtAppointed byVote
1933District of MinnesotaF.D. Roosevelt (D)Voice vote

Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own. A voice vote means the chamber approved aloud. No senator-by-senator tally is recorded.

Confirmation vote

Voice vote

The Senate approved this confirmation aloud, with no senator-by-senator tally recorded. Recorded roll-call votes begin in 1989.

Education

Judicial Record

In our data, Bell authored 21 published opinions for the court (1934–1959). Most cited: United States v. La Tuff Transfer Service, Inc. (27 citations).

A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.

Recent & notable rulings

YearCaseCitationCited
1950United States v. La Tuff Transfer Service, Inc.95 F. Supp. 37527
1959Magraw v. Donovan177 F. Supp. 80320
1954United States v. Ryan124 F. Supp. 118
1951De Vries v. Sig Ellingson & Co.100 F. Supp. 78116
1946Northern Pac. Ry. Co. v. United States70 F. Supp. 83612
1934In Re Burntside Lodge7 F. Supp. 78512
1953Youghiogheny & Ohio Coal Co. v. Employers' Liability Assur. Corp.114 F. Supp. 47211
1945Cole v. Chicago, St. P., M. & O. Ry. Co.59 F. Supp. 44311
1953United States v. 38 DOZEN BOTTLES, ETC.114 F. Supp. 4617
1948Fogarty v. United States80 F. Supp. 907
1943In Re Taran52 F. Supp. 5357
1954United States v. Gredzens125 F. Supp. 8676
1947Porter v. Fleming74 F. Supp. 3786
1942St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance v. Reynolds44 F. Supp. 8636
1947In Re Inland Waterways, Inc.71 F. Supp. 1345

Showing the 15 most-cited of 21 authored opinions in our data. “Cited” is inbound citations across the CourtListener corpus. Case links open the ruling’s full text (CourtListener) or its page here; read the methodology and verify against the primary source.

Questions & answers

Who appointed Robert Cook Bell?
President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Robert Cook Bell to the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota in 1933.
Was Robert Cook Bell appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
Robert Cook Bell was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
What was Robert Cook Bell's confirmation vote?
Robert Cook Bell was confirmed by voice vote on June 10, 1933. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
Which court was Robert Cook Bell on?
Robert Cook Bell was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Sources

Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.

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30 years on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).