Robert Holmes Bell
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 and confirmed by voice vote, Robert Holmes Bell was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. He earned a law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 1969. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1944–2023
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1987
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Wheaton College, Illinois 1966 · Wayne State Law School 1969
- Succeeded
- Wendell Alverson Miles
- Succeeded by
- Hala Yalda Jarbou
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Western District of Michigan succeeded Wendell Alverson Miles | Reagan (R) | 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
| Wheaton College, Illinois | B.A. | 1966 |
| Wayne State University Law School | J.D. | 1969 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Bell was assigned 6,324 district-court cases (1982–2016). Median time from filing to termination: 170 days across 6,324 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 641 of Bell’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 528 were affirmed, 74 reversed or vacated, and 39 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.
In our data, Bell authored 200 published opinions for the court (1987–2011). Most cited: Solomon v. Wein (In Re Huhn) (28 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Solomon v. Wein (In Re Huhn) | 145 B.R. 872 | 28 |
| 2009 | Pacheco v. Boar's Head Provisions Co., Inc. | 671 F. Supp. 2d 957 | 27 |
| 1988 | Witzke v. Withrow | 702 F. Supp. 1338 | 27 |
| 1996 | Bakhuyzen v. National Rail Passenger Corp. | 20 F. Supp. 2d 1113 | 23 |
| 1988 | General Aviation, Inc. v. Cessna Aircraft Co. | 703 F. Supp. 637 | 22 |
| 1999 | Wilson v. Continental Development Co. | 112 F. Supp. 2d 648 | 20 |
| 1988 | Remes v. ASC Meat Imports, Ltd. (In Re Morren Meat & Poultry Co.) | 92 B.R. 737 | 20 |
| 2008 | Grays v. Lafler | 618 F. Supp. 2d 736 | 19 |
| 1997 | Eby v. Producers Co-Op, Inc. | 959 F. Supp. 428 | 19 |
| 1998 | Glidden Co. v. Jandernoa | 5 F. Supp. 2d 541 | 18 |
| 1989 | Lesman v. Ransburg Corp. | 719 F. Supp. 619 | 18 |
| 2008 | Rhea v. Jones | 622 F. Supp. 2d 562 | 16 |
| 2007 | Degussa Admixtures, Inc. v. Burnett | 471 F. Supp. 2d 848 | 16 |
| 2005 | Living Water Church of God v. Charter Township of Meridian | 384 F. Supp. 2d 1123 | 16 |
| 1993 | Thornton v. City of Allegan | 863 F. Supp. 504 | 16 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 200 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 Holmes Bell?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed Robert Holmes Bell to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan in 1987.
- Was Robert Holmes Bell appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Robert Holmes Bell was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Robert Holmes Bell's confirmation vote?
- Robert Holmes Bell was confirmed by voice vote on July 1, 1987. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Robert Holmes Bell on?
- Robert Holmes Bell was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: US District Court for the Western District of Michigan (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
35 years on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).