Samuel H. Bell
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1982 and confirmed by voice vote, Samuel H. Bell was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. He earned a law degree from Akron School of Law (now University of Akron School of Law) in 1952. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1925–2010
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1982
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- College of Wooster 1947 · Akron Law (now of Akron School of Law) 1952
- Succeeded
- Robert B. Krupansky
- Succeeded by
- James S. Gwin
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Northern District of Ohio succeeded Robert B. Krupansky | 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
| College of Wooster | B.A. | 1947 |
| Akron School of Law (now University of Akron School of Law) | J.D. | 1952 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Bell was assigned 2,187 district-court cases (1980–1998). Median time from filing to termination: 245 days across 2,187 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 10 of Bell’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 9 were affirmed, 1 reversed or vacated. 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 100 published opinions for the court (1983–1998). Most cited: Baab v. AMR Services Corp. (51 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A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Baab v. AMR Services Corp. | 811 F. Supp. 1246 | 51 |
| 1984 | Hadar Leasing International Co. v. D.H. Overmyer Telecasting Co. (In Re D.H. Overmyer Telecasting Co.) | 53 B.R. 963 | 27 |
| 1993 | Bacik v. Peek | 888 F. Supp. 1405 | 25 |
| 1992 | Stychno v. Ohio Edison Co. | 806 F. Supp. 663 | 23 |
| 1991 | Economou v. Physicians Weight Loss Centers of America | 756 F. Supp. 1024 | 23 |
| 1985 | VAN DORN CO., CENT. STATES CAN. CO. v. Howington | 623 F. Supp. 1548 | 22 |
| 1991 | Bettio v. Village of Northfield | 775 F. Supp. 1545 | 20 |
| 1991 | Pozzobon v. Parts for Plastics, Inc. | 770 F. Supp. 376 | 20 |
| 1997 | Playboy Enterprises, Inc. v. Russ Hardenburgh, Inc. | 982 F. Supp. 503 | 19 |
| 1997 | Cooey v. Anderson | 988 F. Supp. 1066 | 19 |
| 1992 | Lagway v. Dallman | 806 F. Supp. 1322 | 19 |
| 1992 | Pesek v. City of Brunswick | 794 F. Supp. 768 | 18 |
| 1996 | Rhodes v. Ohio High School Athletic Ass'n | 939 F. Supp. 584 | 17 |
| 1991 | Basicomputer Corp. v. Scott | 791 F. Supp. 1280 | 17 |
| 1986 | Skemp v. Michel (In Re Michel) | 74 B.R. 88 | 16 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 100 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 Samuel H. Bell?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed Samuel H. Bell to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in 1982.
- Was Samuel H. Bell appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Samuel H. Bell was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Samuel H. Bell's confirmation vote?
- Samuel H. Bell was confirmed by voice vote on December 21, 1982. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Samuel H. Bell on?
- Samuel H. Bell was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: Administrative Office of the United States Courts (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.
28 years on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).