Judge Kenneth D. Bell is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.
Education and Career
Bell earned his Bachelor of Arts from Wake Forest University and his Juris Doctor from the Wake Forest University School of Law. In the Western District of North Carolina, Bell served as an Assistant United States Attorney for eight years and then as First Assistant U.S. Attorney for ten years. In 2003, he received the Department of Justice’s John Marshall Award for prosecuting the first conviction of material support to a terrorist organization, which was by a Hezbollah cell. He later was a partner at Hunton & Williams and Mayer Brown. From 2003 to 2019 he was a partner at McGuireWoods. Bell has recovered $371.2 million and disbursed $344.7 million to eligible victims in the ZeekRewards case.
Federal Judicial Service
On April 10, 2018, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Bell to serve as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. On April 12, 2018, his nomination was sent to the Senate. He was nominated to the seat vacated by Judge Richard Lesley Voorhees. On May 22, 2019, his nomination was confirmed. He received his judicial commission on June 12, 2019.
