Griffin Bell | |
|---|---|
 Bell in 1985 | |
| 72ndUnited States Attorney General | |
| In office January 26, 1977 – August 16, 1979 | |
| President | Jimmy Carter |
| Deputy | Peter F. Flaherty Benjamin Civiletti |
| Preceded by | Edward H. Levi |
| Succeeded by | Benjamin R. Civiletti |
| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit | |
| In office October 5, 1961 – March 1, 1976 | |
| Appointed by | John F. Kennedy |
| Preceded by | Seat established |
| Succeeded by | James Clinkscales Hill |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Griffin Boyette Bell (1918-10-31)October 31, 1918 |
| Died | January 5, 2009(2009-01-05) (aged 90) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Mercer University (LLB) |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | US Army |
| Years of service | 1942-1946 |
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | Quartermaster Corps and Transportation Corps |
Griffin Boyette Bell (October 31, 1918 – January 5, 2009) was the 72ndAttorney General of the United States, having served under PresidentJimmy Carter. Previously, he was aU.S. circuit judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Born on October 31, 1918, inAmericus,Georgia. He served in theUnited States Army from 1942 to 1946 in the Quartermaster Corps and Transportation Corps. He was stationed atFort Lee, Virginia. He attained the rank of major. After leaving the army, Bell received aBachelor of Laws in 1948 fromMercer University School of Law. He began his private practice inSavannah from 1948 to 1952, then was in private practice inRome, Georgia from 1952 to 1953 and finally was in private practice atKing & Spalding inAtlanta from 1953 to 1961. He was chief of staff toGovernorErnest Vandiver from 1959 to 1961.
Bell received arecess appointment from PresidentJohn F. Kennedy on October 5, 1961, to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, to a new seat authorized by 75 Stat. 80. He was nominated to the same position by President Kennedy on January 15, 1962. He was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on February 5, 1962, and received his commission on February 9, 1962. He served as a board member of theFederal Judicial Center from 1973 to 1976. His service terminated on March 1, 1976, due to his resignation.
In the aftermath of the disputed1966 Georgia gubernatorial election between DemocratLester Maddox andRepublicanHoward "Bo" Callaway, Bell joined Republican JudgeElbert Tuttle in striking down the Georgia constitutional provision requiring that the legislature chose the governor if nogeneral election candidate receives a majority of the vote. The judges concluded that a malapportioned legislature might "dilute" the votes of the candidate with aplurality, in this case Callaway. Bell compared legislative selection to the formerCounty Unit System, a kind ofelectoral college formerly used in Georgia to select the governor but invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court. Bell and Tuttle granted a temporary suspension of their ruling to permit appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and stipulated that the state could resolve the deadlock so long as the legislature not make the selection. In a five-to-two decision known asFortson v. Morris, the high court struck down the Bell-Tuttle legal reasoning and directed the legislature to choose between Maddox and Callaway. Two liberal justices,William O. Douglas andAbe Fortas had argued against legislative selection of the governor, but the court majority, led this time byHugo Black, took thestrict constructionist line and cleared the path for Maddox's ultimate election.[1]
Bell briefly returned to private practice in Atlanta in 1976. PresidentJimmy Carter appointed BellAttorney General of the United States in 1977, and he served until 1979.
On April 10, 1978, Attorney General Bell announced the indictment of former acting FBI DirectorL. Patrick Gray, former FBI Assistant DirectorMark Felt, and Felt's deputy,Edward S. Miller, for authorizing break-ins of New York City radical political activists. Bell introduced requirements that any authorized illegal activities must be made in writing. Five Department of Justice attorneys resigned over the alleged reluctance of Attorney General Bell to pursue others in the department for illegal activities related to domestic spying.[2]
Bell resigned on August 16, 1979, to return to private practice in Atlanta.[3]
Bell returned to private practice in Atlanta from 1979 until his death in 2009. In September 2004, Bell was appointed the Chief Judge of theUnited States Court of Military Commission Review.[4] Bell was replaced by JudgeFrank J. Williams in July 2007, when the first two cases were appealed to the Court, due to ill health.
Griffin Bell died on January 5, 2009, in Atlanta. According to theAssociated Press, Bell was being treated for complications frompancreatic cancer and had been suffering from long-term kidney disease.[5] GovernorSonny Perdue ordered the flag of the United States flown at half-staff in the state of Georgia on January 7, 2009, the day of Bell's funeral.[6] He is buried in Americus'Oak Grove Cemetery, Section N3-South, where his tombstone bears the inscription "Citizen Soldier, Trial Lawyer, Federal Appellate Judge, Attorney General of the United States."
Bell had a long-standing relationship with theGeorgia Historical Society (GHS). He was a member of the institution for over half a century and from 1996 until his death served as honorary chairman of its advisory board. In 2008, Bell donated his papers to GHS, where they are available for research. See thefinding aid for the Griffin B. Bell papersArchived 2023-02-02 at theWayback Machine at the Georgia Historical Society.
In December 2008, Bell received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree fromGeorgia Southwestern State University in recognition of his achievements and appreciation for his efforts to promote the interests of his alma mater.[7]
Judge Griffin Bell, Carter administration attorney general and former circuit judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. In 1989, President George H.W. Bush appointed Bell to the vice chairmanship of the Commission on Federal Ethics Law Reform. Bell is currently a partner at the law firm of King & Spaulding. He graduated cum laude from Mercer University Law School in 1948.
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Seat established by 75 Stat. 80 | Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit 1961–1976 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | U.S. Attorney General Served under:Jimmy Carter 1977–1979 | Succeeded by |
