Griffin Bell | |
---|---|
72nd United States Attorney General | |
In office January 26, 1977 – August 16, 1979 |
|
President | Jimmy Carter |
Preceded by | Edward H. Levi |
Succeeded by | Benjamin R. Civiletti |
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit | |
In office February 5, 1962 – March 1, 1976 |
|
Appointed by | John F. Kennedy |
Preceded by | new seat |
Succeeded by | James Clinkscales Hill |
Personal details | |
Born |
Griffin Boyette Bell October 31, 1918 Americus, Georgia, United States |
Died | January 5, 2009 Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
(aged 90)
Resting place | Oak Grove Cemetery, Americus, Georgia, United States |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Mary Foy Powell Bell (m. 1943 - 2000; her death) Nancy Duckworth Kinnebrew Bell (m. 2001 - 2009; his death) |
Children | Griffin B. Bell, Jr. |
Alma mater |
Georgia Southwestern College Walter F. George School of Law (Mercer University) |
Military service | |
Service/branch | United States Army |
Years of service | 1942-1946 |
Unit | Quartermaster Corps |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Griffin Boyette Bell (October 31, 1918 – January 5, 2009) was an American lawyer and former United States Attorney General. He served as the nation's 72nd Attorney General during the Jimmy Carter administration. He was an attorney with the law firm King & Spalding.
Bell was born on October 31, 1918 in Americus, Georgia, the son of Thelma Leola Bell (Pilcher) and Adlai Cleveland Bell, a cotton farmer. He attended several public schools before enrolling at the Georgia Southwestern College and then the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. During World War II, Bell served in the United States Army Quartermaster Corps from 1942 to 1946. Bell served as city attorney of Warner Robins, Georgia while still in school. He practiced law at King & Spalding in Georgia from 1948 to 1961. He returned to the firm before and after his service as the United States Attorney General. Bell handled many high-profile cases after leaving office, such as the internal investigation concerning the cash management practices of E. F. Hutton & Co..
He was married to the former Mary Foy Powell in 1943 until her death in 2000. Their only son, Griffin B. Bell, Jr., is an attorney in Georgia and is married to Glenda Maxwell Bell. Mary and Griffin Bell have a grandson, Griffin B. Bell, III, also an attorney in Georgia, and granddaughter, Katherine Bell McClure.
President John F. Kennedy appointed Bell, who had been the co-chairman of Kennedy's presidential campaign in Georgia, to the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in 1961. He served for more than fourteen years on the Fifth Circuit. He often played an instrumental role in mediating disputes between the court's factions during the peak of the American Civil Rights Movement.