NEW ORLEANS (Louisiana Record) — Gretna attorney and former juvenile court Judge David L. Bell has been suspended following a March 16 Louisiana Supreme Court attorney order a little more than a year after a grand jury indicted him for allegedly participating in a Jefferson Parish auto theft ring.
Bell's interim suspension was handed down pending further orders of the Supreme Court and was effective immediately, according to the state high court's single-page order. The court's order followed a petition for interim suspension for threat of harm filed with the court by the office of disciplinary counsel, according to the order.
The Supreme Court also directed that the office of disciplinary counsel can appoint trustees to protect the interests of Bell's clients, according to the order. The Supreme Court also granted an office of disciplinary counsel motion to seal an exhibit "in globo", or as a unit, according to the order.
Bell was admitted to the Louisiana bar April 19, 1996, and maintains his law office in Gretna, according to his profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website.
Bell was elected to the Section C seat of Orleans Parish Juvenile Court during a special election in 2004, taking the place of Judge Yvonne Hughes, who had been removed by the state Supreme Court in April of that year over misconduct allegations. In March 2006, Bell was appointed by then Gov. Bobby Jindal to the juvenile justice and delinquency prevention advisory board. In June 2007 he testified before U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee about juvenile delinquency in New Orleans.
In June 2010, Bell resigned from the juvenile court bench following sexual harassment allegations and a Judiciary Commission recommendation to the Supreme Court that month that Bell be disqualified as a judge.
Bell was arrested in September 2016 on racketeering and conspiracy and the grand jury criminal indictment came down the following February.